Roles Reversed
by Atreyl
Summary: My name is Matt. Matt Jeevas. I'm a fourteen-year-old orphan, also a genius. I live in Whammy's. My life was a fine, normal one, until that one night I switched bodies with my best friend.
1. Prologue

**Roles Reversed**

**Prologue  
**

My name is Matt. Matt Jeevas. I'm a fourteen-year-old orphan, also a genius. I live in Whammy's. My life was a fine, normal one, until that one night I switched bodies with my best friend.

Mello's the best friend I'm talking about. He's also the only friend I have. Shoot me, I'm antisocial.

Anyway, he's basically the opposite of his name, even though it's missing the 'w'. He tends to lose his temper a lot and when that happens, our room gets disheveled. Except my games. I've drawn an invisible line to that. Which brings me to a good trait of Mello: he doesn't hurt me. He's either punched, kicked, pinched, sent to the hospital, broken, and any other harmful verb you can think of, every other orphan. Not me. He occasional punches me on the shoulder, but that's because it's a _guy _thing. It doesn't mean, _Get out of my way before I break your face. _It's more of a, _Was that an awesome trick or was it?_

The person that has received most beatings from Mello is this guy named Quinn. He's a worse nerd than me.

The person that has received most beatings from Mello _from a distance _is Near, otherwise known as the albino kid with white hair that's most likely to succeed L. This, naturally, pisses Mello off. But even he isn't totally evil and took mercy on the kid, just because he knows that L probably checks on Near every day to make sure he's healthy. So Mello resorts to abusing this Near voodoo doll that I made for him, and occasional dropping some nasty words to Near.

And that brings me to something that infuriates me more than losing a game. Mello is _obsessed _with beating Near. Ever since we were eight, when the albino first came here, Mello's spent practically all of his free time studying. Even on Friday nights. We used to sneak out every night after curfew and lounge outside until we felt like going to sleep. It gave us this nice, overwhelming feeling that made us feel _free._

But, the Friday nights, oh, they were _way _better than any nights. You see, everyone at Whammy's knew that L had some addiction to sweets. I'm one of the few who also know that Roger is the one that gets this shopping list from L(listing his favorite candy) and is also the one who gets the candy. He gets the shopping list on Friday nights via e-mail, goes out to get the stuff first thing Saturday morning, and on Saturday night, Watari comes to deliver the food to L.

Our plan was simple, courtesy of Mello's evil mind and my computer skills. I'd hack into the fake e-mail address that L would use to send Roger the shopping list. After I find that L has already sent the e-mail, I compose another one stating that I forgot about something. And then I list all the things that Mello and I would want. The next day, specifically Saturday night, we sneak into Roger's room. There, Mello and I would find everything I'd listed.

It was heaven, really. The sugar would get to our heads and we would spend the whole Saturday night wide awake, laughing, probably giving the others a hard time trying to sleep.

So, see, if you were me, you would miss all that if Mello suddenly started studying on Friday nights. Even on his birthday. He also sometimes gets pissy at me, too, when I tell him that he's no fun anymore. But I'm just stating the truth there.

Finally, though, on my fifteenth birthday, Mello put away his books and spent the whole day with _me. _He didn't growl at the sound of Near's name and didn't even spare glances at his textbooks. We skipped class together. We teased the other kids. We laughed when I hacked into Whammy's grading system and lowered Near's 100% to a 99%, which brought him to a tie with Mello.

And on the night of my birthday, that's when Mello got the brilliant idea of playing a trick on Night. That led to the whole body-switching thing.

Technically, the whole mess was Mello's fault. Partly mine, you could say, but he was the one who convinced me to play that stupid trick on Night. And, I guess it was also partly Night's fault too, because she overreacted over the whole trick. Besides, all we did was smother toothpaste on every page of one of her spellbooks. If I were her, I would have just used some spell to clean it up.

But, _nooo. _She just _had _to use a spell that would fine the culprits(aka me and Mello). And when she found us, she recited this mumbo jumbo stuff. I passed out in the middle of her chanting and woke up two hours later, in mine and Mello's room, in mine and Mello's shared bed.

Which brings us to the present.

* * *

**Hm, I have doubts about this, but I thought I'd share it anyway. What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 1

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 1**

Matt:

I yawned, sitting up in bed. The sheets were strewn everywhere and I saw someone's hand poking out from the white fabric. It must have been Mello.

Trying to recollect memories of what had happened before I black out, I shuffled out of bed. How did I get there anyway? Wasn't I just in Night's room, getting yelled at--?

Oh, right. She threatened to cast something life-scarring over me and Mello. Then she was chanting and I passed out. And after that, I somehow ended up in bed with Mello. If I had no idea what had previously happened, I would have gotten the wrong idea.

Okay, weird.

I walked up to the mirror on the wall, staying quiet. Mello was annoying when he was woken from his beauty sleep.

I reached up to tug down my goggles into place, but found that they weren't there. I frowned. If Night had taken my goggles, I will get Mello to kill her.

Anyway, I looked in the mirror. My eyes were lidded, blond hair mussed. My black cotton shirt was crooked, so fixed it. My rosary was out of place, too, so I fixed that also. There. Now I had to comb my hair--

_HOLY SHIT._

Realization hit me in the face like a fucking choochoo train. My now-blue eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Shaking hands came up to touch my cheeks. Then my hair. I even sniffed a strand.

Oh, god. I looked like Mello. I smelled like Mello. I _was _Mello.

"Nnn, Matt, pull down the curtains," I heard Mello say behind me. And then a thought came to me: _if I were Mello, then Mello was...?_

I whirled, jumping on our bed, tackling the curled up form. I pulled the sheets from his face and saw a flash of vibrant red.

"Okay, what the hell?" It's Mello's voice but...oh, god, holy shit. He looks like..._me. _Complete with my goggles hanging from his neck and my 'dorky' striped shirt.

"Mello...," I whispered, touching his forehead with my pointer finger. Crap. It wasn't a mask or anything.

"Matt?" Mello pushed me away. "Who the hell are you? Why are you wearing my clothes?" He reached for his gun that sat on the bedside table. "Why do you _look like me?"_

I gulped. Now, how should I explain the situation without getting shot? Now that I wasn't in my clothes--or in my body, for that matter--Mello wouldn't hesitate to shoot me. It's one of those good/bad quirks about him not thinking to hurt me. But I guess I never thought about it, because I've never thought about ever switching bodies with him.

"It's me, Matt," I said slowly.

"No, you're not!" Mello cut in angrily. "You...you..." I could see his finger ready to pull the trigger, so, without thinking, I dove forward and tackling him on the bed. He wasn't expecting this, so the gun flew out of his hands and I heard it clutter to the floor.

Mello immediately started thrashing, kicking against me and clawing at my back.

"Get off!" He growled, and I felt his canines sinking into my shoulder blade.

"Ow, Mello!" I flinched, pulling away a bit. "You hurt me!"

"Of course!" Now Mello delivered a kick to my gut.

"But you never hurt me!" I complained, for a split second forgetting the situation. While I was distracted by this fact, Mello took the opportunity to kick me off the bed. I went tumbling to the floor, and I thanked the carpeting. Otherwise it would have hurt.

"Now give me a reason why I shouldn't kill--" Mello froze mid-threat. I blinked my eyes open, looking up at the blond--redhead? He wasn't glaring down at me. Instead, I found out that he was looking at the mirror, which was perpendicular to our bed. He must have seen his--or my?--reflection.

"Holy...," he muttered, before collapsing back, fainting.

It took me some time until I snapped back to my senses. I was in Mello's body by some weird freak, and I had an unconscious boy. Ah, why can't life be easy for once?

Muttering to myself, I got up from the floor. My eyes scoured the room, hands poking random objects. I pinched myself twice. Okay, so this was no dream. It was real, and very scarring. My mind started to run with possible theories of how it happened.

Sitting on the bed beside Mello--or me? Damn, this is going to take a while to get used to--I thought for a moment. My eyes were hurting; I missed my goggles. I looked beside me. They were still hanging around Mello's(yeah, I think I'll refer to him as Mello from now on. I mean, it _is _still him, just in my body. Right?) neck. I carefully, gently slipped them off and tugged them down so they covered my eyes. Reality was instantly tinted orange.

Ah, much better.

I absentmindedly scratched at the exposed skin around my neck. The cotton itched; how did Mello put up with this? God, leather would be better this material any day.

For the first time in a long time, I was thinking. _Okay, so,_ I thought. _The only possible explanation of this is Night's spell. Now, why? Simple, because we smeared toothpaste in her books. Damn you Mello for having an influence over me. Anyway, how? Apparently, witchcraft exists. I wouldn't be surprised if there was suddenly a killer notebook. Actually, I still would be--OKAY, FOCUS. When? Sometime between me passing out and waking up. How long will this last?_

I had no answer to the last question. Nor did I get to think about the answer.

At that moment, our door was opened, revealing Linda, the annoying girl who keeps trying to steal Mello.

I was still scratching my neck when this happened. I was still in Mello's clothes. I was still in Mello's body. And beside me, my unconscious body was also still there. Linda's excited face turned into a confused one, then one of realization. Then joy.

"Oh, I knew it would happen someday!" The brunette squealed, and slammed our door shut.

"Shit, wait, no!" I scrambled to our door. "Stay," I ordered Mello's passed-out form. I smacked myself on the forehead after realizing what I just said. "Linda! Hold on!" I ran out our room, following a girl's excited screaming.

I had to get her. I mean, I wasn't third-best at Whammy's for nothing. I knew she was thinking that me and Mello had done the Unthinkable and she was not going to hesitate to tell everyone. Which I didn't get. Didn't she have a crush on Mello?

Ugh. What's next? Me and Mello are a hit pairing and we have a fanclub?

* * *

**Hey, thanks for reviewing and such, it made me really glad that this idea is at least decent. **

**Cali Ride - Yep, I prefer MxM over MxN(whichever M with Near you're talking about). Near's awesome, but I can't see him with either boys.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter. :)**

**.A  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 2  
**

Matt:

I was never one who voraciously worked out everyday, nor have I ever stepped outside for more than five minutes. So, I was quite surprised when I managed to catch Linda before she could burst in the Commons, where the other orphans usually hung out. Linda gave me an upset look when I cornered her.

"Why did you come after me?" She whined. "You're supposed to be with _Matt. _Not me." She batted her eyelashes. "Unless you changed your mind about me..."

I was about to reply, "I _am _Matt," but then I realized that I was in Mello's body, and therefore I must act like Mello. Unfortunately, I wasn't used to cussing and talking snidely and stuff life that. "Hell no," I said, once again surprising myself when my voice didn't waver. "I just came here to inform you that if anyone knows about what just happened, I will shoot your little fucking head off." Wow. Where'd that come from?

Linda furrowed her eyebrows. "Your voice sounds different."

There goes the chance that people may not notice that our voices had changed. "Linda, how old am I?" I said slowly, as if I were speaking to a child.

"Fifteen," Linda said, equally slowly.

"And what--" I started to say, but she interrupted.

"Oh! I get it!" She grinned at me cheekily. "Mello-chan is going through puberty! I understand." She paused to frown at me disappointedly. "But, even though I'm ecstatic, you and Matt are a little too young to be going that far. Why don't you slow down a bit? Have you even gone on a _date _yet?"

"Of course!" I snapped, lying through my teeth. Anything to get this girl to shut up and promise that she won't blab. "Now, tell me, are you going to keep this a secret?"

"I will..." Linda said thoughtfully. "...but only if you and Matt go on a date. A _real _one this time." She smirked at me. "Or else the whole House will know, including L, about the little incident."

I could have just set her straight, really, I could have. But there was that small part of me that wanted to go along with her plan, a small part of me that was insane. I wasn't sure if the part had been there my whole life and I'd never really brought it out, or if it was just because I was in Mello's body. Whatever it was, something possessed me to open my mouth and say, "All right, then." Because the competitive part of Mello was probably affecting my brain.

"Now, go back to Matty!" Linda pushed me. "Oh, and you really should _not _stick to those goggles. For some weird reason, they only look good on Matt."

I knew the real Mello would have given her a black eye, but I just wanted to lie down and _sleep _and realize this whole incident was a dream. So I left her alone, walking grudgingly back to my room. Hopefully, Mello was still passed out.

Oh. Mello.

I almost forgot about him.

When I entered our room, I made sure the gun was out of reach. My prayers had been answered(maybe this rosary _does _work) and Mello, still in my body, was still passed out. I surpressed the urge to panic and run around screaming, because I was Matt, and I was the mellow one.

"Damn Night," I muttered under my breath. The room was still tinted orange and I was trying to enjoy my last time with my goggles on. Oh, god, I don't think I'd be able to make it for more than a day without 'em...

Wait. Who's to say that me and Mello are going to stay switched forever? If Night did this-- "--then she can undo it!" I snapped my fingers, just because I thought it looked cool.

"Matt, you're talking to yourself again," Mello slurred. I felt him curl up into a ball beside me. I turned to him. His eyes were still half-lidded, trying to focus. "Ugh. I had this weird dream." He sat up.

"If this is, then we must be dreaming the same thing," I said under my breath crossly.

Mello heard and looked up. A few seconds passed as he tried to process what I was seeing. Then, he walked over to me, and--

_--poke._

"What was that?" I rubbed my forehead where his pointer finger had pressed on.

"Hm." Mello looked thoughtful, the complete opposite of what he'd been earlier. "I'm gonna kill Night," I heard him mutter when he turned to our mirror. I watched as he examined himself, touching the red hair, my cheeks. "You look ridiculous with those on," he told me as a matter-of-factly. "Gimme."

Ruefully, I slipped off my goggles and tossed them to him. He caught them neatly and put them over his eyes. "Hm. Not bad."

And I knew that a silent agreement had been made. Then again, I always agreed to silent agreements because I was Mello's sidekick, partner in crime, whatever. But this was a special case. He was asking--ordering--me to play along with this. I knew he'd ask me of that the moment I saw mischievous glint in those eyes. And he knew that I knew that I'd say yes, so he's probably gone ahead and thought up of a scheme already.

Mello turned away from the mirror, facing me. It was very creepy seeing my own body in front of me. It made me feel like a spirit that had wondered out of its life form.

Hmph. We've switched bodies and he's still ordering me around. Why can't the dog ever get what he wants?

"Sit down," he said. "We're going to talk."

And my fate was sealed.


	4. Chapter 3

**Wow. 20 reviews? You guys are freaking awesome! Thanks for reviewing/favoriting/alerting!**

**Before we get started with this chapter, someone was confused, so I thought I'd clear it up a little. Matt and Mello have switched bodies. So now, everytime we are in Matt's POV, the chapter is written through Matt's eyes while he is in Mello's body. That's why the characters refer to him as 'Mello.' Vice versa goes to Mello, although I don't think there'll ever be a chapter in his POV, but just in case. Also, in Matt's POV, he refers to Mello just as 'Mello,' even though Mello is in his body.  
**

**If you're still confused, just say so. :)**

**

* * *

**

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 3  
**

Matt:

Mello was looking pretty damn satisfied with his damn evil mind. Damn him and his damn influence on me!

"So, Matty." Even in my body he looked badass. "Are you with me?"

I nodded. Really, we'd cleared this up before he even told me his plan and asked me to play along. He, the jerk, just wanted to boost his ego.

Mello snapped off a piece of chocolate from the bar he was eating. "Tomorrow. First thing in the morning: we're going to go to breakfast together. That will be our practice run."

"What if something goes wrong?" I asked.

Mello looked at me skeptically. "Matt. What could go wrong?"

That's what they said in movies, then usually the next day something goes wrong.

"Oh, and stay away from Near." The muscle in Mello's jaw clenched ever so slightly that you wouldn't have noticed unless you were me. "I have a feeling he'd see right through this. I don't want that sheep to ruin this. I haven't had a good joke in a while."

"Yes, sir." I mock-saluted.

Mello chuckled. He started to take off his striped shirt.

I yelped. "What are you doing?!"

Mello looked at me strangely. "Changing, dumbass. This is my room too, right?"

He's so _nice._

"What did you think I was doing?" The shirt came off and he was smirking at me.

Damn it. I've been cornered. "Trying to force yourself upon me," I said solemnly.

"Why? Little Matty want some of this." Mello purposely got himself closer to me(the little $%*^!) and pinched my cheek. "No. I wouldn't, at least not when the situation is this. It'd be fucking weird screwing myself."

I somehow found the statement funny, because even though Mello was still really close, I laughed. Mello rolled his eyes and stepped away, proceeding to strip down to his boxers. I thought I heard him mutter, "_Baka._"

"Hey!" I said, halfway through taking my shirt off. "Don't call me names in foreign languages!" I added under my breath, "And I can speak Japanese, _idiota._"

"_Sookin syn_," Mello grinned.

"_Manda_." I liked swearing in foreign languages. I don't know why, but it didn't really feel like I was cursing. Because I'd never swear at Mello.

"_Celaka._" Mello slipped under his covers, watching me, amused.

"Толчок. Он находится в моем теле, и он все еще командует меня. О, да, давайте оставаться переключенные тела, и мы можем дурак каждый! Какая забава! Прокляните это. План лучше работает." I finished my little Russian rant. Mello laughed, understanding every word.

"It's gonna be fine, _ttong-koo-mung_," Mello said. He yawned. "Night, _Mello._"

I huffed, still muttering to myself. "Night, _Matt._"

**...**

**Next Morning**

"Matt, Matt!" Someone was hitting my head with a pillow. "Wake up, fucktard! We're going to be late for classes."

I groaned, shielding my eyes from the unwanted blows. "Why didn't you set the alarm clock?" I complained, dragging myself out of my bed. My nice, cozy, wonderful bed...

"It was your turn to do it, idiot!" Mello was halfway through pulling on his regular black shirt when he stopped. He quickly took it off and threw it to me. "_Hurry!_"

I whined as I pulled on the black shirt and the dark jeans. Mello was already at the door, clothed in _my _striped shirt, _my _denim jeans, _my _peach-colored hoodie, and _my _goggles. I miss the orangeness...

"It's not like I'm enjoying this part either," Mello snapped.

"Then why are we doing this?" I asked him, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. I yawned as he took hold of my arm and started pulling me along to our math class.

"Because we are going to give Near such a complicated puzzle," here he grinned evilly, "that he won't be able to solve it."

I frowned. "This is all about retaliation?" I thought it was because he wanted a good joke. I thought it was some way of apologizing for neglecting me.

"Yes." Mello didn't slow down his brisk pace. We entered the doors that led to the stairwell and we started to make our way down.

"Slow down!" I yelped as I almost tripped. "M-Mello--ahh!" Mello gave a particularly sharp tug when he reached the end of the first flight of stairs. I was still hurriedly running down when I was pitched forward, crashing into Mello, who turned at the last second. Our foreheads collided with each others and my foot landed on Mello's. I heard him take a sharp intake of breath, bracing himself for the fall. We landed, _hard, _onto the dirty floor.

"Urgh...my spinal cord," Mello gasped.

"Sorry," I managed. My head had slipped sideways so now the tip of my nose touched the floor. I'd reached out, trying to stop the impact, so now my right hand was feeling quite numb.

"Get off." Mello wiggled around weakly.

"Trying..." I heaved myself up, straddling him. "My _hand_," I moaned, hugging my right hand to my chest.

"Retard, you're still on me." Mello glared from below.

"This is your fault!" I said accusingly. "If you weren't in such a_--ow--_hurry to get to class, we never would have--Oh, my god!" My hand was lolling around limply in its place.

Mello wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

I managed to get up. "How do I write now?" I whined. "I'm not ambidextrous!"

Mello reached out his hand. "Let me see."

"No." I pouted, flinching back. "You're just going to cause more pain like you did when I twisted my ankle."

"I tripped over you," Mello defended. "Now, let me see."

"No." Nonetheless, I saw him make a grab for my arm. I tried to move, but the pain hurt so fucking much. I let him take my hand(oh, the cliche). Surprisingly, his touch was gentle and he didn't wiggle my arm so my hand flopped back on forth. No, he actually gingerly held it and examined it from a safe distance. "I thought we were late," I said breathlessly. I was breathless partly because of the fall, partly because the pain was still there, and mostly because Mello was holding my hand. A rush of exhilaration went through me and I couldn't help but mentally squeal. Like, you know, one of those lovesick girls.

And then Mello softly brought his lips to my injured appendage. I hardly felt anything, but there was a warm feeling that surged through my arm, all the way up to my cheeks in a blush.

"Sorry. It's broken." He was still looking down at my hand. "If it makes you feel any better, my spine isn't doing so well, either."

I laughed weakly. "You haven't done that in a while." I was referring to the hand kissing thing. It wasn't that big of a deal, I guess. When we were younger, that's what he did whenever I got bruises from the older orphans. He said that's what his mother used to do to him or something. He stopped doing it after Near arrived. Again, damn that stupid albino.

"Yeah." Mello looked up. "Let's get you to the nurse."

When did this caring side ever exist in Mello? Eh, maybe it was just some bits of my personality that he was catching. After all, I cried easily, like that one time my pet butterfly died. And, plus, a little bit of Mello's competitive personality had crept into my veins. Maybe we weren't _fully _switched. Like, we still had our voices and now some of our personalities had been left behind.

This is weird.

As me and Mello walked back up the stairs, _slowly this time_, I remembered the deal I'd made with Linda. Aw, how am I going to break it to Mello without getting shot?

Right now, though, my best friend just kissed my hand, he just showed a caring side of him, and he was poring over me. Well, maybe not the last part, but I think I'll enjoy this moment anyway.

* * *

**Glossary:**

**_Baka- _'Idiot' in Japanese_  
_**

**_Idiota- _'Idiot' in Spanish_  
_**

**_Manda-_'Cunt' in Russian  
**

**_Ttong-koo-mung-_ 'Butthole' in Korean  
**

**_Sookin syn- _'Son of a bitch' in Russian_  
_**

**_Celaka-'_Idiot' in Malaysian  
**

**_Толчок. Он находится в моем теле, и он все еще командует меня. О, да, давайте оставаться переключенные тела, и мы можем дурак каждый! Какая забава! Прокляните это. План лучше работает - '_Jerk. He's in my body and he still orders me around. Oh, yeah, let's stay switched bodies and we can fool everyone! What fun! Damn it. The plan better work' in Russian**


	5. Chapter 4

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 4**

Matt:

It wasn't so hard accepting that I liked Mello. Like, like _like. _Then again, I was pretty sure I saw it coming sooner. After all, I'd practically die for him.

The hard part was that he was in my body. Which is _weird_, because it made me feel like I caught his narcissistic personality.

Anyway, back to the present. I was currently sitting on a white(ew. Reminds me of Near...heh. Sitting on Near) chair beside the door to the nurse's room. There was some yelling, which I identified was Mello and the nurse. I briefly worried, because he was still in my body and all, but I guess it could pass as a movement of worry. For his _best best best _ever_ friend._

Yeah.

"I didn't break his fucking arm!" Mello was shrieking. "He _fell _down the stairs and--"

"You _pushed _him?! Matt, I'm disappointed in you!" The nurse shrieked back. You see, Mrs. Lily had taken a motherly liking to Mello, before this whole switch-incident. I'd asked Mello why, and he had told me that when he first came here, she was the one who nursed him back to health.

"I didn't push him, you bitch!" Mello again. I worried he was getting too tempermental. "Anyway, why does it matter? Just fucking fix his arm."

Then the door opened and an angry looking Mello stormed out. He huffed, sitting on the chair beside me. I turned in my own seat to look at him, still cradling my hurt hand. "What was the yelling for?"

He laughed humorlessly. "For once, I'm actually pissed off by her motherly instincts." He smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Matt," he whispered. "I acted too out of character."

"S'okay," I said. "I'm the one who broke my hand."

"_My _hand," Mello corrected. He glanced back at the open door. "You should go and get it checked out."

I nodded and stood. After glancing one last time at Mello(his face was as red as his hair) I walked in the nurse's office. When I shut the door quietly, Mrs. Lily looked up and gasped.

"_Mello!_" She said in horror, sounding like one of those girls from dramas.

I itched to say, _'He's out there, I'm Matt'. _Instead, I said, "Um, hi." I've really got to get used to this. "Mel--Matt didn't push me down the stairs," I added swiftly. "We were in a hurry to get to class and we tripped."

"MelMatt?" Mrs. Lily looked skeptical, but she shook her head and motioned for me to come over. I did so and she took hold of my arm. I flinched in pain. "Sorry, dear." She brushed her graying hair out of her face into a ponytail. It was hard to believe that a few minutes later, she was just yelling at someone for hurting me.

Wow. Mello was sure loved.

"Can you right with your left?" Mrs. Lily was saying.

"No." Mello wasn't ambidextrous either, right?

Mrs. Lily nodded, so I must have said the right thing. "We'll have to give you a cast. As for your classes..." she said, pausing to think. "I think Matt will help you. He's still your best friend, right?"

"Of course!" I said.

"Okay, so he can copy notes for you." Mrs. Lily smiled. "How's it going?" She started working on my cast.

"W-what?" I said, surprised at the sudden question.

"I mean, between you and Matt," Mrs. Lily patiently explained.

Why did this lady want to know?! "None of your business!" I snapped, even though it felt strange to be talking about myself.

"You weren't this introverted last time you talked to me." Mrs. Lily looked concerned. "Did you two get in a fight? Is that why he pushed you down the stairs? I can't imagine Matt being that hostile, but--"

"He didn't push me!"

"--he should have known better. Weren't you going to confess to him?"

I stopped cold. _"_C-confess?" I stammered.

Mrs. Lily replied, "Yes, Mello. Last time you were so confident that you were finally going to tell him."

Tell me? Tell me _what_?

"There, the cast is all done." Mrs. Lily leaned back, eyeing the finished blue cast that covered the skin from my elbow down to my wrist. "Make sure you--"

"I don't know what you're talking about, lady!" I screeched, and fled from the room. I burst out, past Mello, and ran for our room. I stumbled down the flight of stairs, miraculously didn't trip, wrenched open our door, went in, and slammed it close. I leaned against the wood, breathing hard.

A few minutes later, there was the sound of running footsteps, then a knock. Mello's voice spoke up, "Mello? You okay?"

That meant there was someone else in the hallway. He would have just referred to me as 'Matt' if there weren't.

"You _did_ reject him!" It was Linda's shrill voice. A loud _smack _sounded. Did...she just slap him?

I could practically hear Mello growling as he tried to stay calm. "Reject him? _What?_"

"You rejected him when he asked you on a date!"

"A _date?_" Mello screeched, sounding incredulous. "He didn't! And, besides..." The rest dropped to a whisper. My heart thudded in my chest as I tried to listen in. Then, Mello said again, louder, "I promise."

Promise what?

"Really?!" Linda squealed in happiness.

"Really," Mello said, sounding tired.

"Okay!"

Linda must have gone. Mello knocked again. "Matt?"

I stifled a scream and dove under my bed. I tried in vain to wiggle underneath, but only succeeded in getting my upper body stuck.

I heard the door open and gave up, my body going limp. I was _so _confused. Especially about the conversation with Mrs. Lily. Mello was going to confess to me about something? What was he going to--

"Matt!" Two strong pairs of arms yanked at my feet. I squealed and searched blindly for a foothold, but Mello had already pulled me out. He glared down at me. "What was Linda talking about?" He leaned down, narrowing his eyes at me.

I laughed nervously. "Um, she saw us, um..." I took a deep breath, ready for the rant that would start. "She saw us after that time you fainted and got the wrong idea but for some weird reason she was happy so she ran away and I knew she was going to tell everyone so I ran after her and I caught her--aren't you proud of me?--and made her promise not to tell anyone but some part of your insane personality flared up and I agreed to asking you out on a date so that she'd keep her trap shut." I flopped back on the floor, out of breath.

"Oh." Mello looked like he actually understood it all. Then he grinned cheekily. "Okay."

"Okay what?" I asked wearily.

"Okay, I'll go on a date with you. Where are we going?"


	6. Chapter 5

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 5  
**

Matt:

To put it in simple terms, my brain short-circuited. The part of my brain that was worrying about video games shut down. The part of my brain that was wondering about dinner shut down. The part of my brain that swarmed with thoughts about gummy worms shut down. And the tiny, _little _part of my brain that was swarmed with thoughts of Mello...well, it expanded until the rest of my brain was infected with it_._

_aslkdfjasadfkjalsklsd MELLO IS GOING ON A DATE WITH ME!!!!!!!_

"Matt?" Mello asked, sounding and looking amused. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Does he _not _remember what he had just said? "I just think that it'd be weird to go on a date with you still in my body," I croaked.

Mello looked the slightest bit dejected. "Oh...So you don't want to? I mean, we could always tell Linda that--"

"No!" I quickly interrupted. "I-I do. S-she's going to think that you rejected me and shit." Not that I _do _want to go on a date with you. Course not.

"Well, we could go to Night and ask her to switch us back," Mello said thoughtfully. "And maybe in the morning, she'd switch us back again."

"Switch us back?" I asked incredulously. "Why can't we stay in our respective forms?" I missed my goggles. "Anyway," I said, gesturing to my hand, "I doubt you'd like to have a maimed hand."

Mello shrugged. "I've dealt with worse. Plus, we haven't even gotten the chance to set out plan into motion yet!" He locked eyes with me. "Please, Matty?"

"Okay." No, I did not say yes because he had used my puppy eyes on me. I did not say yes because he called me 'Matty' and I liked it. I said yes because I was his best friend, cohort, partner in crime, and therefore it was my duty to stay by his side and aid him in whatever he needed help in.

Mello smiled but I knew that underneath those curved lips was a smirk. "Great! So, tonight..." A little glazed look passed over his eyes and he actually looked genuinely excited. But I must have seen wrong.

"Can we _not _discuss this now?" I asked, half-jokingly. Mello pouted--_damn, _now I knew what he meant when he said my eyes were lethal--and sighed.

"Fine. Let's go to Night." Posture slacked, he opened the door for me.

"We'll go to that ice cream parlor you like for our...date," I whispered to him as I walked out.

Mello was trying to keep up his angry demeanor. Finally, he just gave up and smiled a little. "Okay."

That ice cream parlor I was talking about had a lot more meaning to it. Like I said, it was Mello's favorite place. It was also mine, pushing the arcade to second place. It was special to both of us...We'd chosen to go there for the first day we were allowed to wander out of House grounds. That little parlor on the corner of the street was where we also told each other our real names, something no orphan had ever done. I remember that time, clear as day.

_"Are you sure you're going to finish that?" I asked. _

_I'd just turned twelve back then._

_"Of course, dummy!" Mello licked his lips, eyeing his triple-scoop fudge sundae. _

_I ate a spoonful of my mint ice cream. "If you say so, Mello."_

_We ate in silence for a while, occasionally stealing glances at each other._

_When we finished our ice cream--at least, I did; Mello was still halfway through his--Mello asked me casually, "So, what's your real name?"_

_I hadn't heard of Kira yet. And in my world, Mello was my one and only best friend, and I trusted him. "Come 'ere." I gestured for him to lean forward. He did so and I whispered in his ear, "Mail Jeevas."_

_I wasn't expecting him to tell me his real name in return. "Mine's Mihael Keehl." Then he leaned back in his seat. "You're not going to tell anyone, right?"_

_"Course not." I flashed a sweet smile at him._

_"I trust you."_

_"As do I."_

_--_

Have you ever---

No, no. Forget I wanted to ask. Of course you've never been to Night's room. She keeps high-tech security around there, which may very well be the reason why she didn't have a roommate.

"If I die, you can sell my stuff on eBay," I whispered to Mello.

"If I die...you still can't touch my chocolate," he whispered back.

I touched the doorknob hesitantly. No laser beams appeared and sliced me to pieces. No mythical creature came out and dragged me away.

Ever so slowly, I twisted the doorknob and pushed it open. It creaked slightly, like those movies. When I stepped in, it was like entering the set of Harry Potter, no lie. The walls were lined with bookshelves, spellbooks crammed in them. There was a large cauldron _boiling _in the middle of her room, smoke spilling out. A chandelier hung from her ceiling and that's when I noticed that the roof had been painted. Angels, cherubs...oh god. Naked babies with wing thingies. I'm permanently scarred for life.

Night was looking out her glass window. "Yes?" She turned, holding her 'wand' tightly. She smirked when she saw us. "So, how are you doing?"

There was no point in pretending. She _had_ been the one who did this to us in the first place. "We need you to switch us back," I blurted out.

Night narrowed her dark eyes. "And why should I do that?"

"Relax, you can change us back in the morning," Mello put in.

"You...are enjoying this...?" Night asked uncertainly.

Mello looked triumphant. "Yes, we actually are."

"So why do you need to be switched back tonight?"

"A date." Leave it to Mello to be blunt.

"Ah, so you two have fallen in--"

"No!" I interrupted, just as Mello calmly said, "Yes."

Why did he seem not bothered by this?

Night's eyes flashed dangerously. "This was meant to be a punishment. You were not meant to enjoy it."

"Well, guess what?" Mello sneered. "We are, so--"

"You were not meant to enjoy it!" Night screeched. She jabbed her wand at us. "Fine," she said, more quietly. "You'll be switched back to your own bodies tonight. But in the morning, you will not only find that you will be back in each other's again, you will also fall in love, though in the future, that love will be tested." Then she uttered some more gibberish and waved her wand. I almost burst out laughing at the ridicule, but then a wave of dizziness washed through me.

I couldn't put into words what happened next. I'll try, though. It was like my spirit had floated from the current body I was in--Mello's--and rose to the air. I looked down to see Night standing there, with me and Mello...

The next thing I knew, I was stumbling backwards, my back hitting a random bookshelf. It rattled a little.

"Matt? Are you okay?" Mello didn't sound fazed.

My eyes tried to focus. I became vaguely aware of the all too familiar pressure on my head. I reached up and felt my goggles perched innocently on top of my head. I saw Mello.

_He was in his own body._

I smiled. Night had done it. We were back. Too bad this would only last tonight._  
_


	7. Chapter 6

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 6  
**

Matt:

Night had literally chased us from her room. She didn't really have to. I would have gone by myself; her room gives me the creeps, especially that shrunken head that almost fell on me when I bumped into her shelf.

I practically whimpered when I was finally able to put my goggles on. I miss the orangeness...

But then Mello yanked them off and threw them to the nearby wall of our room. It thunked against the plaster and fell in a pile of sheets.

"Hey!" I protested, turning to go and get them.

"You are _not _wearing those on our not-date," Mello growled. He grabbed a handful of my hair--my poor red hair--and yanked backwards. I stumbled and fell on the floor so that now I was leaning against his knees. He stooped down to my level and smiled. "Okay?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "'Not-date?'" I questioned.

Mello shrugged. "It's not an official date. We are, after all, just doing this to satisfy Linda, right?"

I gulped. "Um, yeah."

"Do you _want _it to be an official one?" He was smirking now.

Evil bastard.

That I love.

"Yes," I murmured, looking down at my hands.

"Okay, then." Why is it that _none _of these things ever bother him? He always goes on all calm and collected. It made me want to scream in frustration.

I pouted angrily.

Mello laughed. "Cute." He tweaked my cheek before sashaying away, to god-knows-where. Wait, never mind. He's just going to the bathroom.

When the door clicked shut, I grabbed a random pillow, shoved my face into it, and screamed. I don't know for how long I sat there, sitting on the floor, face stupidly stuffed into a pillow.

_Why is Mello acting like this all of the sudden?! _I _am the one who jokes about that kind of stuff. Not him! He's the one who punches me when I do! _

I bit my lip, stifling another scream. I breathed in deeply, willing myself to stay calm like the person I should be. Maybe Mello knew that I had feelings for him and was now mocking me. That's cruel. I'd love to say that he would never do that, but he has, sadly, multiple times. Some girls liked him a few years back and Mello didn't hesitate to rub their feelings in the dirt, stomp on it, and walk away cackling.

Yes, I know.

"Matt. _Matt,_" Someone whispered a while later.

Having dozed off, I roused from my sleep. "Nnyeah?" I blinked my eyes sleepily at Mello.

"It's been two hours, dumbass." He smirked, rising up to his full height, which, by the way, was two centimeters shorter than mine. Ha!

"And?" I rubbed my eyes, focusing on him. Specifically, what he was wearing. "My _god_, what the fuck are you wearing?"

My best friend--my Mello--was adorned in black _leather. _His upper body was covered with a vest that showed off his arms, as well as a small portion of his stomach and waist. And his legs...damn, his legs were outfitted in leather pants. Finally, black combat boots. They reached all the way up to his knees.

I gaped like a fish at him, silently willing my nose not to start bleeding.

Mello grinned widely. "You like?"

"What the fuck are you wearing?" I repeated hoarsely.

"Clothes," Mello said innocently. "Would you prefer if I didn't? Because, really, it'd be no problem--"

"No!" I said quickly. "It's just...Mello, we are going out to eat _ice cream. _Why don't you wear your usual clothes?"

Mello was pulling on gloves, which were also leather. "They're plain and they're too dull for my liking."

"Wait...where did your cast go?" I stared in wonder at his bare wrist.

Mello shrugged. "I removed it. I guess Night's spell-crap-thing fixed my arm, because it's totally fine now."

"Where did you get that attire, anyway?" I averted my eyes to his boots, fearing I'd really have a nosebleed.

"Well, _you _gave me these gloves." I could hear the smirk in his voice. "So, I thought I'd get some clothes to match it. They don't go all too well with a cotton shirt, y'know?"

"You sound like a girl now," I muttered, getting up so I can get dressed, also. Again, the thought that me and Mello were going out on a 'date' floated into my head. I still couldn't believe he actually agreed to this shit. But that's his loss and my gain, heh.

You never read me think that.

Mello walked after me. "What did you say, Matty?"

"You sound like a girl now," I repeated.

Mello kicked me lightly. "Butthead."

I rolled my eyes and started to change. "You just gonna stand and watch there?" I teased, looking over my bare shoulder at my best friend.

"Maybe." Sometimes it's like I don't know him anymore.

"Pfft." I pulled on my signature striped shirt and started shredding my pajama bottom. I wiggled my butt at him jokingly. To my surprise, he smacked it. "Ow!" I yelped, stumbling forward. I glared at him heatedly as I pulled on denim jeans.

Mello shrugged. "You asked for it."

"Did you hear me cry, 'Mello, please smack my butt!' anytime at all?" I retorted.

"No, but my spidey senses are telling me you were thinking about it," Mello whispered directly in my ear.

I laughed, a little nervous, scooting away. "So, um, you ready?"

"Yes."

"Let's go, then."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Let me hold your hand."

"Eh?! No!"

"Linda's outside, retard. She's been trying to get in for the past few minutes."

As if on cue, Linda called, "I can hear you!"

I sighed. "Okay." I tentatively stretched my arm out towards his.

Mello smiled and took it. The leather was smooth in my hand. I remember now, when I had given him those. It was three years back, on his twelfth birthday. He'd been eyeing the gloves for a while on this site. Two weeks before his birthday, I was panicking because I'd forgotten it was my own best friend's birthday and had no present. So I went on my laptop and saw the site in my history. I clicked on it and immediately understood. Yeah, I didn't even need Mello to tell me which leather thing he wanted, I just magically knew.

The moment we opened our door, a bright flash went off. I yanked my hand from Mello's grip and used it to shield my eyes.

"What the hell!" Mello was yelling.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Linda hyperventilated. She held a camera proudly in her hand. "You guys are actually doing it!" Then she squealed/screamed/broke my eardrums and ran away. "D, I told you they'd do it! D! Come over here!"

"Let's go." Mello took my hand again and we headed for the stairwell opposite to where Linda had run off to. We made our way to the front door, which Mello nicely opened for me.

"Does this make me the girl?" I asked.

"Yes."

"But you're the one who looks more feminine!"

"Shut up, Matt."

And we were on our way.


	8. Chapter 7

**There's going to be a POV switch about in the middle of this story. Just wanted to warn you, in case you get confused.

* * *

**

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 7**

Matt:

"We must look like quite a pair," I mused as we entered the little ice cream parlor.

"Yeah." Mello grinned. "A dork with a sexy, leather-wearing blond."

He's so full of himself at times. I rolled my eyes. "Sure." We ordered our ice creams, and Mello managed not to bust a nerve when the employee gave him the wrong ice cream at first. We took out seat in the farthest corner, safe from prying eyes.

"It's like old times," Mello murmured around his spoon. He looked around appreciatively and ate a spoonful.

I agreed. "Except now we know each other's real names."

Mello smiled and continued eating. I sneaked glances at him, both amazed and bewildered at his good manners. He even used his napkin!

"Why are you staring?" Mello queried.

"Huh?" I shoved my spoon in my mouth, liking the minty flavor. "What do you mean?"

Mello raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Staring. You were staring."

I noticed he was also taking tiny, neat spoonfuls of his chocolate ice cream. I bet he was about to raise his pinky any second.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do to my Mello?" I finally blurted out.

"_Your _Mello?" He smirked.

"Well, yeah!" I blustered. "Y-you're acting all neat and clean and it's...freaky!"

Mello exhaled in relief. "Thank god. I don't have to?"

I shook my head and watched him. He grinned wolfishly and started eating his ice cream a whole lot faster. "Bet'cha I can finish first," he said.

I started shoveling ice cream down my throat as well. "You're on!"

Unsurprisingly, Mello won, thirty seconds after I gave up and banged my head on the table, having a brain freeze.

Mello cackled at my state of health. I huffed angrily under my breath, staying in my position. I lazily tuned in to other conversations as my brain freeze slowly began to recede.

"No way! I would so totally, like, get the redhead. He's, like, cute." I cringed at the 'girl talk'.

"Well, then I call dibs on the blond one!" Her friend answered. "He's...OMG he is so cute..."

She actually said 'OMG'.

I turned my head so my chin rested on the cool surface of our table. "Don't."

Mello looked at me innocently. "I wasn't."

"Oh, please. You were totally going to go over them and yell at them," I said as a matter-of-factly.

"They deserve it." Mello shrugged. "They can't have you. You're mine, Matty. All mine."

My face blushed seven different shades of pink as my brain registered his words. I was...his? I both liked it and was creeped out at the same time. "O-okay, Mels. They're not gonna bother us anyway, so let's let them keep their little crushes, all right?"

Mello glanced over his shoulder briefly at the giggling girls. They giggled louder when they saw Mello staring at them.

He flipped them off.

They just giggled louder.

"Girls," Mello muttered, turning back to me.

I nodded my head solemnly. "Don't let them get to you, though. This is supposed to be our 'date,' remember?"

"Why do I feel like you're putting quotation marks around that?" Mello said curiously as we got up to leave. "Anyway, I won't."

"Promise?"

"As long as you promise you'd never ever flirt with any of those kinds of girls."

"Okay." I should have been angry and told him that I was free to make my own decisions. But I felt cared for, a feeling I wasn't very used to until Mello came along, so I figured, why not? I smiled. "Because I'm yours."

We were walking by the girls now.

"Just to make sure..." Mello murmured, before I felt soft, warm lips press themselves again my cheek.

_HOLY FUCK. HOLY FUCKING SHIT! _

This time, I was pretty sure I blushed nine different shades of red. My cheek tingled as my brain freeze totally went away. And as if that weren't enough, a slim arm came snaking around my waist, resting on my hip. Mello pulled me flush against him.

"Mine," he whispered into my hair. "'kay, Matty?"

* * *

Mello:

I ignored the girls' giggling again as I pulled away from Matt's cheek. He was frozen on his spot and I feared I'd done the wrong thing. But then his face eased into a comfortable, almost blissful expression and he smiled dreamily at me. "Okay."

If he kept doing that, I fucking swear I'd start ravishing him on the spot.

I smiled back as a ton of relief washed through me. He hadn't rejected me. That was good.

Matt was third at Whammy's but, _god _was he thick at times.

We walked out of the shop, onto the quiet town's streets. The sun was dipping low in the horizon, coloring the night sky hazy orange and dull yellow. The stars were already coming out, the moon brightening.

Aw, fuck. See the things that Matt makes me do?

But it's been two years and I'm used to it. Besides, maybe I was getting closer to getting him to realize my true feelings. Maybe he'd finally see the hints I've been dropping him for the two past fucking years. Maybe he'd finally realize that_ I was in love with my best friend._


	9. Chapter 8

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 8  
**

Matt:

It took me every fuckin' ounce of self-control I had not to giggle. We walked down the sidewalk together, hand in hand; earlier, Mello had suggested it, his excuse being, "Linda might have followed us." On normal terms, I wouldn't have believed it, but I was currently too busy relishing the fact that Mello had just kissed my cheek. I didn't care if it was just for show or whatever, he _kissed my cheek._

"So, had fun?" Mello spoke up.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" I said. "Yeah, I did," I added.

Mello smiled. "I can't wait for tomorrow! We are so going to fool everyone!"

"What's tomor--oh." I stopped myself, remembering. I inwardly sighed in dejection; Mello didn't care about the fact that this was our first date(whether he liked it or not) and only cared about beating Near. I knew I'd be forced to appear like I'd forgotten this day, because Mello didn't like 'sappy shit.' But I secretly took my memory of tonight, locked in a box, and stored it safely in my heart, where it'd be safe from being forgotten.

Mello was still ranting on, "--and once we do, I'm going to finally beat Near! He's going to be so--"

"Could you please stop talking about beating Near?" I snapped, irritated slightly. "God, and I thought tonight would be just _us, _for once." I quickened my walking pace, leaving Mello behind.

--

**Later**

I seldom got angry. Unlike Mello, I could control my emotions and appear cool and unruffled. But I wasn't like Near, who was an emotionless, damned white brick wall. I had times when I radiated emotion, like happiness. When I did radiate emotion, I was almost never giving off negative vibes. The only things that set me off was if someone were to mess with my games. Seeing as Mello never did that, I was never angry or pissed off. Though on that night, as I laid in mine and Mello's bed, my fists were clenched and my eyes were squeezed shut in pure anger.

The door opened, almost silent except for the little creak it made, and the sound of Mello walking in followed it. The _tap tap tap _of Mello's boots echoed in my ears, although they were muffled by our carpet in general. I felt his eyes looking at me, trying to see whether I was really asleep or not. I think I heard him sigh before starting to peel off all that goddamned leather. A few minutes later, pressure was applied to the bed as he crawled under the covers. Then a skinny arm wound its way around my waist and he made himself comfortable against my bare back.

Damn him and his sleeping habits. He tended to latch on to me like some leech when we slept together. I normally didn't mind, but then again, circumstances were _not _normal and I was beyond pissed at him.

His breath was warm against the nape of my neck as I tried to drift off to sleep. Instead, the worst possible thing that could happen happened: a tear slipped from my closed eyes and made its way down my cheek.

_Shit, shit, shit._

Mello makes little boys cry.

I couldn't help but shudder, curling myself up tighter into a ball. I felt Mello frown against my shoulder; he must have felt it.

I stayed still, keeping my breathing steady, appearing to be asleep. Then I swear I felt his arm hug me tighter and his lips against my ear.

"Sorry, Matty," he whispered quietly. A small kiss was placed on my neck before he eased back, though he was still holding me, and went to sleep. I could tell he was in dreamland when his breathing changed.

And just like that, my anger vanished and I felt vulnerable, scared. More tears fell.

_Damn it! Stop crying, you pansy! What would Mello say if he saw you?_

I sniffed, rubbing my cheek against the pillow. I couldn't risk using my arm to wipe my face...Mello could wake up...he'd see me crying...

"Why is Matty crying?" came the soft murmur, smooth like velvet.

I thought he was asleep! My worst fears were coming true, fuck! "Not," I murmured back.

"Then what was the wet substance that I felt?" Mello said. The sound of sheets ruffling filled my ears, and then Mello was leaning over me, face scrunched up in worry. "Matt?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was drool?" I tried hoarsely.

"You don't drool." Mello leaned in. "Matt. Look at me."

I opened my eyes, adjusting to the darkness of our room. "How would you be able to tell, anyway? It's so fucking dark." I grinned bravely, even though he probably couldn't see it. A spidery hand ghosted my cheeks, which were dry, thanks to the pillow.

"Hm," Mello said, laying back down. "I could have sworn..." He shrugged, resuming his pushed-up position against my back. "Night."

"Night."

--

**Next Morning**

I woke up on the other side of the bed. I was hugging Mello--or, me. We were switched again.

I sighed, getting out of bed. Taking a glance at the mirror, I saw Mello's face staring back at me, blond hair and all.

I got ready for a day of hell.

* * *

**It's a day of hell for Matt because Mello's gonna have all his attention on Near...**

**Damn sheep.**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews! I've got 60! Virtual hugs and butter for everybody!  
**


	10. Chapter 9

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 9  
**

Matt:

I was correct. Today _was _hell.

We were switched again.

Mello was all bouncy and twitchy, which was weird seeing him do that while he was using my body. He consumed nearly twice as much chocolate bars than he normally did, which should have made me worry. But lately all I've been feeling is resentment and anger, especially towards Near. I mean, it wasn't Mello's fault, right? He couldn't help _not _think about Near, because it was natural for him to want to crush anyone in his way of becoming number 1. So, in conclusion, it was Near's fault that Mello wasn't paying any attention to me.

I felt like such a neglected puppy.

Though when I was done dressed in my signature striped shirt and I was halfway out of our room, Mello grabbed my hand. It sent tingles up my arm, upward my neck, reaching my cheeks in the form of a blush.

Mello was looking at me intently. "Where are you going?"

"Class?" I asked, like that were a trick question.

"You can't go to class with those on!" He gestured at my goggles, which successfully concealed my eyes. Which, by the way, were red and sore from my crying last time. By some weird freak, the puffy eyes stayed with me through the switch. Mello's eyes--my eyes--were perfectly fine. Damn...

"I'll tell everyone we decided to wear something of each other's," I said, shrugging. I slipped off the rosary around my neck and put it on around Mello's. "There. Maybe now it wouldn't feel too weird doing this, because it sure as hell is for me."

Mello tugged it over his head just as quickly. "No, no! Then, everyone will get the idea that we're dating or something." He dropped it back around my neck and, while I was distracted by the damn shiver that went up my spine, tugged off my goggles. He smiled, triumphantly holding them up.

I looked down, not bothering to fight. His words stung.

"Matt? You really were crying last night?" Mello said, tilting his head to the side. Confusion laced his words. "Are you okay? Are you sure you'll be able to do the plan?"

...Damn it, why was he so _oblivious?!_ Hadn't he seen me smile when he kissed my cheek? Or did he think that was just for show? Did he do that to mark me 'his'? Anger clouded my vision once again, and before I could think about it, I yanked him forward roughly and smashed my lips onto his. My eyes were screwed shut, concentrated in trying to get across that I _didn't care about fooling Near, _that I _didn't care about the fact that my eyes were sore, _and that, really, all I cared about was making sure he knew I loved him.

"Matt!" I was shoved away painfully, my back colliding with the doorframe. I winced.

"Yeah, Mel?" The corner of my mouth twitched upward in a smirk.

Mello stared at me with wide eyes, and, cheeks flushed, brushed past me. I swear I heard him whisper, "Sodomy," as he walked out.

I was smart enough to know what that word meant. My hand traveled up to the rosary hanging around my neck and I grew angry again. What did his religion have to do with this?

Everything. Now I was probably Lucifer or something in his eyes.

I punched the wall in frustration, thus making a hole in it. I forgot my strength for a second there. Practically growling and in the worst mood I'd ever been my whole life, I stalked out of our room and walked to my first class, Cultural Arts. Me and Mello had decided to study ancient Greek together, so we were sadly in the same class. And we sat next to each other.

Mello didn't look at me the whole time, which was fine. It gave me time to think as I pretended to practice writing the ancient Greek alphabet down.

_Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epilson...  
_

It wasn't long until my thoughts wandered off to silly insecurities. _What if Mello didn't want to be my friend again? What if he's going to go up to Roger and tell him he wants a new roommate? _And then came the frantic ideas of trying to apologize to Mello. _I was half-asleep. I didn't know what I was thinking. I was high._

_Zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda..._

The teacher called on me to write one of the symbols on the board. Like me and Mello had planned, I gave him a blank stare and performed the task without a struggle. It mayn't seem a lot, but it was very unusual for Mello to do the teacher's will without being given detention(which I often sneaked into to see him).

Unmercifully, the symbol I had to draw was for the letter M.

'Mu'.

It was an upside-down 'rl'.

M for Mello.

I sighed inaudibly, setting the chalk down on the little ledge and walked calmly back to my seat. The teacher gaped at me the whole time, as well as the whole class. Except Mello. His gaze was fixed on the window.

Another thing that should have appeared disturbing to our fellow classmates: Mello(in my body) wasn't carrying a DS, PSP, gameboy, or any other portable game device. I glanced at the white-sheep-devil-known-as-Near and saw him unemotionless as ever, though his eyebrows had furrowed the slightest.

The rest of the class continued in an uneventful manner. Mello didn't wait for me when it ended and instead opted to walk out without me.

Well, fine. If he didn't need me, then I certainly didn't need him. I would not let myself be defeated, for the first time.

My confidence was strong, but I guess it wasn't enough. By lunch, my hands twitched as they raised up to my lips, holding a chocolate bar.

_Crunch._

I was eating chocolate. After the little stunt during Cultural Arts, Mello had told me we should lay low; then, when everyone thinks that that day had simply been an 'off day,' we'd pull another stunt again.

Anyway, lunch. Mello sat at our usual table but I didn't. I knew him well enough to leave him alone when he wanted to be by himself. I ignored the needy part of me that craved Mello's prescence.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case until later on that night, when I was feigning sleep, when Mello suddenly climbed on top of me.

* * *

**A bit of useless info: Night doesn't have any classes with Matt and Mello. Just in case you were wondering why she never appears in any other scene than when our duo is in her room.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 10  
**

Mello:

I was completely, utterly terrified, and at the same time I felt like those lovesick schoolgirls in a sappy romance movie.

My hand kept going up to grab my rosary, but it wasn't there, and I remembered it was with Matt.

_Matt..._

Once again my gaze shivered down to my plate as I caught sight of the redhead across the lunchroom. He had looked impassive, though I could tell by the way his shoulders were hunched the slightest bit that he was sad, lonely, even.

And, damn it, guilt came crashing down on me like a fuckin' ton of bricks.

_Why in the world, Mello, did you push him away after he did what you've been wanting him to do for the past years? Why did you say that word, when your religion has nothing to do with this? _

_Religion _does _have something to do with this! The few times my mother was with me, she taught me about the Bible, the will of God...Sodomy!_

_If you love Matt, then it doesn't matter._

Hours of avoiding Matt later, I stopped abruptly in front of the door to Matt and mine's room before I could crash into it.

Was _that _why I seriously considered going in there and kissing him senseless? Did I really love him? Before, it had been nothing but a silly crush on my best friend. Oh, great, now that sounds like some overly cliche movie.

What to do...

Then I heard it. That _sniffle._ It was quiet, and if it hadn't been for the quiet halls(everyone else had gone to sleep), I wouldn't have heard it. _Damn, _it was such a miserable noise, and I can imagine Matt crying in there.

Because of _me._

I had to stop myself from bursting in, calling him by his pet name('Matty'), and comforting him, like we did when we were little.

_Deep breath, Mello, _a inner voice of mine told me. _Think, first. Don't let your emotions blind your decisions. _For some strange reason, that voice sounded like Matt.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled, then entered our room. The lights were off and it was completely dark, save for the bits of moonlight that filtered through our blinds. In the center of the room was our 'shared bed,' which was basically my bed pushed up next to Matt's. Said redhead was already under the covers, back facing me, looking like he was asleep.

Like I'd fall for that.

I kicked off my sneakers beside where Matt's were. As quietly as I could, I sat on our bed, and thought about my plan.

For one of the few times in my life, I was terrified that something would horribly go wrong.

Another deep breath, and I did it. I pulled Matt gently so he was on his back, then climbed atop him, straddling his waist. I was right; he had been faking sleep. Wide, surprised green orbs stared up at me, which surprised me as well. He wasn't wearing his goggles like he usually would.

"Hey," I said, because, really, what else could I say?

"Hi." Matt gave me a weak smile. "What're you doing?"

I bit my lip. "I just want to talk."

"Like this?"

"Well, last time I made you cry, though you tried to hide it. So this time, I want to see every emotion that flickers through your face." I added quietly, "I don't want to make you cry again."

Matt half rose from his spot. "I won't cry, I promise."

I shrugged, pushing him back. "Ah, well. I'm staying like this, anyway."

And just like that, my sarcastic Matt was back. Or, was it just bits of my personality that clung to him? We were, after all, still switched. "Getting comfortable, Mel?" He grinned a toothy grin.

"Maybe," I said, cracking a smile. "Listen, about earlier..."

"Forgotten," Matt interjected quickly. "I promise."

I paused. This wasn't going as I thought it would. Matt wanted to forget it? "You want to?" I croaked.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "That's what you wanted, right?"

Oh, boy. Things were going to get out of hand soon. "What I want!" I nearly shrieked. "No, no, no, Matt. I don't want to forget. I want _you_." And to prove it, I leaned down and kissed him square on the lips.

* * *

**Please don't kill me for making this short! Normally it's 1,000+ but this one was only 833 words...sorry, sorry! *chucks jars of frosting to appease you***

**Hopefully I'll be able to sneak in an update before my grandfather arrives...until then, see you!  
**


	12. Chapter 11

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 11**

Matt:

I think I've died and gone to heaven. Or maybe hell. Gah, I always knew Mello would be in either one...

"I--mph--want you too, ah!" I felt Mello's spidery hands creep up to my neck, where he held me in place. The digits were cold.

"Damn it, Matt," he groaned, pulling away to fall limply on top of me. "Should'a told me sooner...bastard..."

Now I finally understood what the nurse meant when she said Mello was going to 'tell me something.'

I was beaming--damn, I was a fucking ray of sunshine!-- up at the ceiling, a hand on Mello's back, holding him close. This was probably a dream. If it was, I better not be woken up or I'll kill whoever did...Well, if Mello woke me up, I'll just tear open my pillow. This is the best dream. Ever.

"This is not a dream, douchebag," Mello muttered, his breath warm against my neck.

I shivered. "Shut up Mello, you're ruining the mood." But I was still smiling, my heart beating a thousand times a minute.

_Mello liked me...he loved me...Dear god, he said he _wanted _me! Ugh, I need gummy worms... _

"Matt? Are you okay?" Mello was looking at me know, eyebrows furrowed in slight worry. I was aware I'd murmured his name about five times now.

A blush stained my cheeks. "Y-yeah."

Mello laughed, the sound reaching me as musical. Of course, it always had, because Mello never just _laughs. _It's either forced or out of cruelty, though with me, it rang true and honest. It made me feel special, like I knew a secret that was between only me and him. Shoot me for sounding sentimental.

"Mello, Roger is looking for you and Matt," someone said from outside our door. It was Near, I recognized with a grimace. "Presuming the redhead is always with you, I came to--" The door swung open, and before Mello could yell at the albino for entering without knocking, an abrupt silence filled the air. I was still on my bed with Mello atop me, though now I was sitting up on my haunches. Mello had moved also, but not much. He was still straddling my waist. To everyone else, they'd see Matt straddling Mello, since they were unaware of our body-switching. Still, either way, our position looked intimate.

It was too bad that someone was Near. Speaking of the kid, he was still in our doorway, in those ridiculous white pajamas and holding a teddy bear. His face portrayed no emotion except that little flash of surprise that showed in his obsidian eyes.

A wave of satisfaction rolled through me. _See this, Near? Mello just kissed me and proclaimed his love to me. This means that I'm going to be his center of attention for most of the time, not you anymore! Take that, you stupid sheep!_

Hey, don't blame me. I was the one whose best friend convinced to switch bodies with, just to get back at the enemy. Even I have my moments.

"What do you want, sheep?" I growled like Mello would.

"I see Matt and Mello are not ignoring each other anymore," Near said, still in that monotone.

"We were doing nothing!" Mello yelped, like I would. I knew it was acting, but I still felt like a puppy that had just been kicked. By a sexy, leather-wearing blond. Mmm...

_Focus. _"What does Linda want with Matt?" I demanded, pulling Mello close.

"Mello!" Mello whined. "Stop treating me like a puppy, damn it." He wiggled against me(creating oh, so delicious friction) and tried to escape my arms.

"Ssh, Matty, the sheep is speaking." I smirked against his forehead, looking expectantly at Near.

Near blushed profusely at the sight of us. "Actually, Roger wants to see all three of us," he said. "Apparently, L is about to arrive in a matter of--."

"L?!" Mello perked up at his idol's name. I prayed silently that he'd control himself; he was currently me, and being me meant caring about nothing except video games.

"Yes," Near answered, sounding intrigued by Mello's reaction.

"Mello, let's go!" At least he remembered not to call me 'Matt,' right?

Psh, like that was enough to erase the skeptical look on Near's face. As I was pulled past the white-haired boy, I swear I almost saw the gears already turning in his genius mind...

--

**Ten minutes later, at Roger's office**

"Where is he?" I asked excitedly. The walk from our room to Roger's office allowed me to get Mello to calm down and get back in character. "Near told me he was coming, so where?" I tried to look rabid, but failed miserably.

Mello had taken out his DS--mine, actually-- and started playing a zombie game. The sound was muted because he was losing and didn't want us to hear the 'Game Over' music. That would strike anyone weird, since I never lost to my games. And we've messed with Near's mind more than enough already; I was scared he would discover our dilemma too soon.

"He will arrive at the front door with Watari soon." Roger faked a smile. "He requested your three's audience."

"Wonder what would make him travel all the way from Japan to here. Must be important," Mello mumbled.

"He is working on a case, a dangerous one," Roger explained. "Also, he--" The old man stopped and sighed. "I'll let him tell you three himself. Here he is now."

The doorbell rang.


	13. Chapter 12

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 12**

Matt:

I swear, the moment L set his eyes on me, he immediately knew that me and Mello switched bodies. Of course, that was just my paranoia, but L's lips twitched upwards in a little smile. "Hello, Mello," he greeted nicely.

How does Mello react...? "Hi, L!" I said, unconsciously making my voice higher in pitch.

"You did not tackle me this time, so I must applaud you," L said, clapping slowly.

"I taught him everything he needs to know," Mello muttered beside me, still focused on the game. Once in a while, I saw his eyes flicker up to watch his idol.

We were in L's 'private office,' as Roger called it. Me, Mello and Near were seated in nice, comfy chairs and L sat in front of us in his usual sitting position. Unlike most offices, L didn't have a table, and only had his laptop sitting on the floor. I didn't mind too much.

"Roger told us you were working on a case," Near said, fiddling with his bunny's stuffed ear.

L nodded, a little grim. "Yes, I am, in fact. It's a dangerous one. I'm sure you've heard of Kira?"

Mello froze beside me, rigidly putting away the game. "I have. I saw it once briefly on the TV, but I thought it was a hoax..."

"It's no hoax, Matt." If L was surprised the gamer-who-usually-didn't-care suddenly cared, he didn't show it. "It is very real, and I would know because I am working on its case, and I'm constantly reminded everyday that I may die."

I heard the thin strand of Mello's patience snap and break. "W-what?" He rose from his seat. "You can't die!"

"He didn't say he would, Matt," I tried to calm him down.

"Mello is correct." L nodded. "There is a %42.7 chance that I may die, though that's only if I'm not careful."

"Sit, Mels," I whispered the last part, low enough for only Mello to hear. His hand clenched into a fist.

"You better not die," he finally growled, before storming out of the room.

"Mello, Near." Something in L's voice stopped me from going after Mello. "About the race to become my successor..."

Near stared at L. "You have chosen?"

I swear, what kind of fourteen year old talks like that?

"No," L admitted. "With this situation, however, I'm being forced to pick sooner, seeing as the inevitable may happen."

"You should pick me," I said quietly. _Come on, just say it. For Mello's sake. _"I've got the devotion and the drive. I actually know how to hold up a conversation; I could get outside help if it's really needed. I could lie easily; unlike Near, I don't have to have access to money in order to convince prying eyes. I've got the emotions Near doesn't have: happiness, dismay, embarrassment, confusion. I can _love._ And...that allows me to be able to appear in public without looking too suspicious," I added the last part. "If you pick Near, do you know what effect that could have on me? I'd waste my own soul, because I'm thinking I'm not good enough. If you don't pick Near, he would probably take it without a word. You'd be wasting a life, L." I turned and walked out of the office, for dramatic effect.

But inside, I was on the verge of going insane and yelling at L and throttling him into making Mello his successor. Taking deep breaths--jeez, I haven't been this mad for some time now-- I walked outside in the courtyard. The sky was dark and gloomy(oh, goody, it matched my mood), but I paid no attention to it and marched to the spot where Mello liked to hide in.

"W-what happened?" Mello sniffed when I knelt down under the marble picnic table.

I grinned wryly. "I gave 'im a piece of my mind, that's what."

Mello looked at me, confused. "You yelled at L?"

"Nah, I just talked to him. You should have seen his face, though. His eyes were really wide. Well, wider than usual."

Mello sighed a little, smiling. He scooted over to give me room and I slid under the table with him. "He's not going to pick me, Matt," he murmured, leaning his head on my shoulder. His red hair tickled my neck. I found myself missing seeing his blond hair, and sick of seeing my own.

I gripped his hand. "Of course he will, Mel! Especially after that speech I gave him."

Mello looked up at me, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "_You _gave a speech?"

I nodded. "Yep!" And I recited it from memory. What? I wasn't third at Wammy's for nothin'.

"You should have cussed at least once," Mello informed me.

I shrugged. "I thought it was how you'd deliver it."

Mello laughed. "No, no. It would sound something like this..." He paused for a moment, then switched his tone to angry, "L, god damn it, you've got to pick me!" He belted out. "Can't you see I practically get no sleep because I'm so fucking worried whether I'll beat Near or not? I don't play with my best friend anymore! Hell, I don't play with _anyone _anymore. I don't eat anything besides chocolate. You know how long ago was the last time I ate a carrot? Eleven fuckin' years ago, that's how long! I've become irritable, and Matt complains about how I'm so uptight nowadays. And this is all your fault, you bastard! So just pick me already before I lose anymore of myself!" Mello exhaled, finishing his 'speech.' His head flopped back down on my shoulder again. "That was tiring, Matty."

I agreed solemnly. "Although I doubt that you'd blame L."

Mello played with the hem of my shirt. He shrugged as best as he could in his position. "Yeah, I'd probably blame Near. If it weren't for that damn sheep, I wouldn't have to go out of my way to be first."

The sky rumbled angrily, lightning flashing. I heard the _tap tap tap _as raindrops fell on the concrete in front of me. "You'll be first someday, Mel."

"Sure," he grumbled in return.

"No, really, I mean it," I said sincerely. Oh, god, here comes the sentimental moment...

"Blah, whatever." Mello turned his head so his face was now buried in the sleeve of my shirt.

I watched the rain absentmindedly as it fell heavier. "Mello." I looked at him, raising his chin. "Love you." I kissed him on the lips.

Mello made a squeal-noise-thing of surprise and looked down, blushing. "Damn, Matt, don't do that without telling me."

"But that would ruin the moment!" I whined.

"Sentimental bastard," he muttered under his breath, though he laced his hand with mine.

We waited under the table together, heads leaning against each other's, until the storm finally cleared.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. It might not seem so late for some, but I'm used to updating, like, at least five times a week, so this was...terrible, in my eyes. GAH! I'M SORRY!**

**(Hopefully the fluff at the end of this chapter made up for it)**

**.A  
**


	14. Chapter 13

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 13**

Mello:

After that meeting with L, I hated Near with a refreshed vigor. Suddenly I was reminded of all the damn things he'd beaten me, the way he made me feel so _infuriated. _As a result of this hatred, I woke the next morning with an adrenaline rush, thirsting for some sheep-blood.

Matt was curled up next to me, still asleep, looking innocent(did I really look like that when I was asleep?). He looked tempting, damn it, and I had to slap myself to stop from drooling. With some effort, I climbed out of our bed and groggily made my way to the mirror.

I was still in his body. Crimson hair, emerald eyes, porcelain skin. If I called the reflection beautiful, would that be narcissism? After all, it _was _Matt's body, and just me in it, so...?

Ugh, never mind. My head was throbbing too much with anger to deal with that. Feeling like I was in one of my hangovers(yeah, I would know) I roused Matt awake, blue eyes blinking in an attempt to focus. I missed his green eyes that only he'd let me see.

I beamed at him. "Good morning, sunshine, the world says hello!" I said playfully. "Today's the day, so get up from your lazy bum!"

" 'World says hello' my ass..." he mumbled in annoyance as he staggered about in our room, pulling on a black shirt and some black pants. He looked at me for a moment, and laughed.

"What?" I frowned.

"Nothin'." He kissed me quickly on the forehead. "Let's go, huh? Got a Technologies test to fail." He nudged my shoulder, linking arms with me as we exited our room to our first class of the day. Most kids had already started, so me and Matt quietly took the seats in the back. We were handed two papers for each of us. I smiled deviously as I started working.

Sometime halfway through, Matt nudged my elbow and winked at me. I grinned.

"Mello, Matt!" the teacher barked. "No communication with others!"

I rolled my eyes, readjusting my vision to the test before me. Twenty minutes later I was finished and I ignored the shocked stares as I went up to pass my paper in. The other orphans were probably thinking, _The great Matt taking more than fifteen minutes to complete a test on computers_?!

I almost laughed as I slid back in my seat. Matt had long since finished, which probably brought more confusion to our fellow classmates.

I sneaked a glance at Near. He looked unruffled, though he glanced back once at me. I smiled despite of myself, pulling out a DS. I muted the sound like I always did, because I always died and loud voice would boom 'Game Over!' whenever I did. We didn't need any more suspicion for today.

The next day, me and Matt walked in the Commons side by side, me 'engulfed' in my game as Matt put on an eager face to see the scores. The list was posted behind a glass contained hanging on the wall and it was crowded with orphans.

"Whoa, Matt's score is the sixth highest only!"

"And Mello is second, no surprise, but isn't Matt usually second?"

I calmly read the scores, seeing '_Matt' _in sixth place, with '_Mello' _in second. '_Near' _was at first, which for the first time ever, didn't bother me too much. Pride swelled up in me when I thought of how Near would react when he realized he'd been tricked...Ha! I couldn't wait!

If I didn't have the DS in my hands I would have rubbed them together like the evil villains did.

Beside me, Matt snapped, "Quit staring, you little bitches!" at the crowd of orphans that were gawking at us.

"Language, Mello," Near said, walking up to the case. He took a few seconds to glance at the scores and walked away without another word.

A growl escaped Matt's practically bared teeth and he grabbed my wrist, roughly pulling me away to the cafeteria. Wow; I never knew he was such a damn good actor. "Hurry up, dickhead," he said impatiently as he waited for me to get my lunch. His face was contorted in a dark mask of anger as he stalked away to our table. He slammed his tray down dramatically, successfully silencing the cafeteria. "What'cha looking at, you fuckers?" he shouted at the others. Muttering to himself angrily, Matt stabbed at his lasagna with a plastic fork.

I whistled lowly. "Someone's pretty pissy." Actually, I was saying, _Nice acting._

"Shut up, Matt." And he was actually saying, _Why, thank you. _It was some sort of telepathy thing I swear we had going on.

"Second isn't so bad." _You should have done better; you probably would have beaten Near._

"I said, shut up." _I would have, but that would have been too shocking, don't you think?_

"If it makes you any happier, I was sixth." _The plan worked. Everyone must be pretty confused._

"Yeah, like I care." _Can't wait to see how they'll react to tomorrow's plan._

"Of course you do." _Feeling's mutual._

"Damn it, shut up! God, I hate you sometimes." _Love you._

"Hate you, too, Mels." I rolled my eyes like Matt would do whenever I told him that. _Love you too._


	15. Chapter 14

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 14**

Matt:

I was actually enthusiastic about something, surprisingly. One would think my laziness has disrupted my ability to be enthusiastic about something, especially when the something is talking to Near.

I know. It was Mello's idea; he figured that if 'Mello' suddenly became civilized friends with Near, it would mess with the albino's head even more.

Speaking of Near, my blood boiled whenever he was mentioned, honestly. I'm not sure whether it was naturally me, or just a part of Mello that was getting to my mind. Either way, I was secretly ecstatic as I walked up to Near, carrying my notes. We were alone in the Playroom, with Near in the middle surrounded by a tower made of dice. He didn't look up, but acknowledged my presence with a blink. Yes, a blink.

"Hey." I sat cross-legged in front of him.

"What does Mello-chan want?" He asked.

My eye twitched at his monotonous voice. "I was wondering if you would review with me. I didn't get this one thing in our arithmetic class together, so I thought you might be able to help me." I added a big, toothy smile.

Near now looked at me, eyes silently questioning, _Are you serious? _

It brought me glee, realizing that I had gotten Near to show emotion. Mello'll be so flippin' happy when he hears about this. "Yeah, so here are my notes." I handed Near a small pile of papers. "Are you free right now? Or should we wait until you finish your puzzle of a, um, sheep?" I queried, glancing down at his puzzle of a sheep. I grinned, picturing that sheep smeared with blood and lying dead in a pool of sheep-guts.

Yep, something's definitely wrong with me.

"If Mello-chan wants," Near said, returning to his puzzle. He snapped the final piece of the puzzle into its place and looked back up at me, eyeing my notes wearily. "So, what is Mello-chan having trouble with?"

"Call me Mello," I told him. "I don't get this one." I pointed to a random equation on the paper on topmost of the pile.

I swear, his eyes widened a fraction of a fraction of an inch. "Okay, Mello-chan, listen very carefully," Near said, ignoring my suggestion. He launched into a boring lecture, his flat tone making it sound even more boring.

"Thanks!" I said to him when he finished. I gathered my notes and offered my hand to help him up.

Near shook his head.

"Aw, come on! It's the least I can do." I pulled him up to his feet nonetheless and I began to drag him out with me to the hallway. It was probably swarmed with other orphans, which provided me with the best background. "Thanks for helping me, Near!" I said cheerfully, purposely saying it loudly.

All talking hushed. Numerous pairs of eyes landed on us. Near blushed almost violently.

"Y-you're welcome," he said quietly.

I beamed, bringing out my best acting skills. "Wanna sit with me at lunch tomorrow?"

Near nodded slightly. "If Mello-chan would like to."

"I do!" I chirped. I looked at an invisible watch on my wrist. "Oh, great. I'm late for mine and Matty's picnic." I frowned. "See you later, Near." I smiled again and jogged away to mine and Mello's room, past the shocked orphans, grinning to myself in victory.

--

Mello:

I was high, up so fuckin' high in heaven. Not only did I get to terrorize the younger children, I got to terrorize the younger children and steal their chocolate. You should have seen their faces when they saw 'Matt'--the ever so calm, reserved Matt-- burst in their room and steal their chocolate. Again, pure heaven.

"Please Matt, I only got these on Saturday!" Linda whimpered under my cold glare. She protectively held her chocolate eggs in the crook of her elbows. They looked so delicious I almost started salivating.

"I don't care," I declared. I snatched her precious eggs and cackled, walking out of her now-a-wreck room. I ignored her miserable sobbing as I went in to mine and Matt's room. I sighed, dumping the chocolate on top of the pile of chocolate that was already nesting on my bed. I wanted to jump into the pile like me and Matt would with piles of leaves during autumn, but I figured it would only crush the chocolate. And crushed chocolate is no good.

"Mel, I have good news," Matt proclaimed, coming in. He took one look at my face and the pile of chocolate, then grinned. "I see you had a good time."

"The fuckin' best," I said joyously.

Matt shut the door behind him, sitting on the bed beside my chocolate.

"What happened?" I asked, eager to know.

"Near totally fell for it," Matt said with a sly smile on his face. "He was so surprised. And he blushed too, when I asked him to sit with us at lunch tomorrow. By the way, is that okay?"

I nodded decisively. "Of course. As long as it's worth it."

"It will be." Matt kissed me on the cheek.

I blushed, feeling so happy and content with the way the world was. If only I had known about the big surprise that would come the next day.


	16. Chapter 15

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 15**

Matt:

We were having salad for lunch today. That's a bad thing, by the way. You have no idea how much I hate the green, leafy, pukey-colored stuff. It's disgusting!

"You'll have to eat it," Mello informed me as we walked down to the cafeteria. "I love salad."

I grumbled, "Says the one who doesn't have to eat that crap."

Mello hit me lightly. "Hey! I happen to love salad. You have no idea how hungry I am right now."

Once we entered the cafeteria, we went straight to acting: my back straightened just a little, and Mello hunched over just a little, turning on a DS and starting to play with it. I glanced outside. "Matt, let's eat outside," I said.

Mello gave a lazy shrug. "As long as there's shade."

"There is. Ah, there's Near!" I spotted the albino outside sitting in one of the picnic tables Wammy's had. Some feet away from me, an orphan eyed me strangely. They were probably thinking, _Since when was Mello so glad to see Near?_

Then they saw 'Matt' beside me and cowered. Hm. I guess Mello scarred them a little more than he should have yesterday.

I got salad and Mello got a bag of chips from the snack table. I prevented myself from drooling over the Doritos as we walked out of the double doors, entering the outdoors(Haha. Get it?...Never mind). We sat in front of Near, earning more weird looks from others. I flipped them off and casually tossed my hair over my shoulder, smiling at Near.

Hey, hair-flipping's fun! Mello's so lucky, he has longer hair. He gets to be able to flip his hair _all _the time. Damn, I want his shiny, flippable hair!

Right. I'll go back in character, now.

"Hello, Near," I greeted politely, picking up my fork and scooping up some cabbage and carrots. I mustered all of the courage I had and ate the whole forkful.

EW, EW, EW, THAT WAS DISGUSTING! Oh, god, my throat's closing up...I feel like I'm about to upchuck...

"Heh, breathe, Mel," Mello said from next to me, smiling lightly. He punched my back a few times, and I realized he was doing it in a pattern.

Morse code.

_. ---/. --- ././--- . --- ---/--- --- ---/. . ---/--- --- ---/--- . ---/. ---/--- . --- ---?_

_A/R/E/Y/O/U/O/K/A/Y?_

_Are you okay?_

Once I'd composed myself, I tapped back on his wrist, _Yeah._

Near wasn't paying attention to us, though I wouldn't be surprised if he was discreetly spying on us. He was casually--_too _casually-- playing with his Megatron action figure. We ate like this for a while, in silence, except for the sounds coming from Mello's game.

Ten minutes before lunch ended, Mello stood and declared he was going to get another set of batteries for his DS. He left without another word.

"So, what did Mello-chan think of today's salad?" Near asked, not looking up from his toy.

I shrugged. "It's fine. Not the best they've had, though." I forced myself to eat more, managing not to choke this time.

"I suppose."

I wanted to ask how the hell he knew that, because he never touched his salad once, and it looked neglected on his tray.

"Would Mello like a truffle? It's German chocolate."

His words registered my naturally-slow brain and I had to double take. Near. Was. Offering. Me. A. Truffle. What would Mello do? Well, he'd push the albino over, steal the truffle, and walk away, but what would Mello do if he didn't hate Near...as much? That was hard to answer. After all, Hell would pretty much freeze over before Mello stopped hating Near. So I had to be creative.

I chose the over-dramatic reaction, because I haven't had a good laugh in a while. Plus, it would mess with Near's head even more. Really, it was a win-win situation. "R-really?" I whispered, my eyes getting watery. I was such a good actor. "F-for..._me_?"

Near nodded the affirmative, though he looked a little uneasy. "For Mello."

"T-thank you, so much!" I cried, burying my head in my hands and starting to cry. "You have no idea how crappy their chocolate is here. A German chocolate truffle would really make my day!" I looked up, and almost fell backwards to see that Near had leaned over, and he was now so close I could count the curly strands that was his hair. A hand came up to my cheek, rubbing the fake tears away.

"I like Mello very much," he whispered. Then, he placed something in my palm and kissed my cheek. Looking mortified(Pink and white...oh, goodness), he grabbed his Megatron action figure and ran away. Yes, Near actually ran, and that was a pretty weird sight, I tell you.

Speaking of weird, did I mention this one time Mello and I were assigned partners for this one CPR practice class thingy? I was the person choking and he was the one who had to rescue me. So, I suppose that had been our first kiss then.

Speaking of our first kiss, I wonder when we'll have it. I'm so scared! What if I mess up or something? Or what if Mello's religion comes back to him full-force? Oh, god, that would really, really suck! Because--

_Breathe, Matt, breathe. Stop mentally rambling._

"Mello?" I was now vaguely aware of the fact that Mello had arrived more than five minutes ago. Still, I sat there, mouth hanging slightly open. I was pretty sure I was drooling, too. "Are you okay, Mels? Why are you drooling?" Yep.

He wasn't calling me by my own name, so that meant there were other people around here. Other people equals bad. Need to tell him what just happened.

Near--

God, god, god, I'm so scared!

--just--

What the fuck just happened?

--fuckin'--

Why did he do that? WHY?

--KISSED ME.

I screamed, clawing at my cheeks, trying to get the icky feeling out. Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh GOD! I need to scrub my face until it was red, _now! _

_"_Mello!" Mello shouted, yanking me up. "What. Is. The problem?"

I couldn't tell him what just happened, not when the other orphans were already staring at us. So I kept screaming and scratching at my face, shrieking, "I need to go to the bathroom! Bathroom! Need to wash my cheek!"

It wasn't like me to overreact. But then again, it was either bits of Mello's melodramatic personality, or just the sole idea of Near _kissing _me. Either way, I'd rather die if I didn't get the gross feeling on my lips off, now.

"Bathroom!" I continued to scream. "Bath--" Then something hit me in the face, I saw _ooh, pretty dancing stars, _and I blacked out.

* * *

**Yes, Matt overreacted. That was fun to write, even if it was a teensy bit OOC for him. Maybe a lot, but oh, well. It's needed for how he's going to tell Mello about the whole Near-incident. **


	17. Chapter 16

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 16**

Mello:

God, how does Matt enjoy doing this 24/7? Seriously, all you do is press the buttons and shoot the stuff in the screen... It's pretty shitty, if you ask me. Plus, his DS wasn't in the most perfect shape, what with him having it since he was five and all.

On the way back outside, I bumped into Near in the doorway. I resisted the urge to sneer at him, because that was unMatt-like. So I smiled lightly and said in my best friendly voice, "Hi."

Near was blushing, which didn't go well with his whiteness. He looked like a pink-dyed sheep. Haha.

"Matt." Ugh, there's that monotone again. "May I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why has Matt-kun been losing in Tetris?"

"I'm out of practice. Mello took away my game for two days and wouldn't give it back, so."

"Yes, but I recall a small conversation between us where you proclaimed you could play the game and beat it with your eyes closed."

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. "Get out of my way, Near," I said.

"That's out of character for Matt to say."

"Get away!" Without another word, I shoved him aside and began to run to Matt, who was frozen with wide eyes. After regaining my composure, I slid in the seat in front of him. I had to tell him that Near was suspicious about us. "Mello?" I asked, since others were close enough to hear our conversation.

Matt didn't answer. He just sat there with this kind of distant look, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Are you okay, Mels?" I repeated. "Why are you drooling?" I lifted the goggles from my eyes a little, trying to look at Matt better. Then he started screaming, screaming loudly about going to a fuckin' bathroom or something. The surprise made me let go of the goggle strap and they snapped back into my eye, causing sharp pain and making my eyes water. I wanted to scream back at my best friend and then slap him silly, but I skipped the screaming part and just slapped him instead.

"Stars..." I'm sure I heard him mutter, and he passed out.

Wuss.

"Come on, Melly," I whispered, taking his arms and starting to drag him. I snarled at the other orphans gathering around me to watch, not caring if they thought it was weird that Matt was snarling like a...snarling Mello. Yeah.

I lugged Matt to the back entrance of the cafeteria. Thankfully, there were only three steps, so Matt only got knocked in the head a _little _bit. He was lighter, and I supposed that was because he was in my body. And was that the same reason I was feeling way exhausted than I usually am? Or maybe it's because I'm dragging my best friend through Wammy's halls now. Yep, that's probably it.

Our room was on the second floor. Now, you could say that I should have taken an elevator instead of dragging Matt up the tall as fuck staircase, but Wammy's didn't have one. It's not like those fancy hotels, okay? We still have the 'old-fashioned' things, like the wooden wardrobes.

Halfway up the stairs, I ran into Linda. She looked at me strangely.

"Oh, no," she moaned. "Please say you didn't drug him and are planning to rape him."

My eye twitched. "Of course not."

Linda smiled brightly, petting my hair. "Of course! Silly me! Why would Matt-kun do such a thing to his boyfriend, anyway?"

""B-boyfriend?" I stuttered, feeling a _whoosh _as the fight went out of me.

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Linda said, "Duh. You _did _go on a date with him, right? And plus, I totally saw how you reacted to Near after what he did."

"What did Near do?" I asked tensely.

"He kissed Mello on the cheek," she answered. "I thought you saw...?"

I gritted my teeth. "No, no I didn't. Thank you for telling me, Linda. I will have a very special word with Near."

She giggled. "Aw, it's a love triangle!" Linda swooned, clasping her hands together and lifting her leg up, looking dreamy.

I was disturbed. "Whatever you say, Linda." I'd describe this as a line segment with a point two inches away from it. The two points connected, forming the line segment, are me and Matt. Near is the little point two inches away from us. Because me and Matt are together, and there's no way in hell that Near is going to come in between us.

Matt says my overprotectiveness isn't healthy for him. Fuck him. No, don't. Lay a finger on him, you're dead. Only _I'm_ allowed to do that. ;)

I finally managed to finish dragging Matt's ass to the top of the staircase, where I began to haul him down the long hallway. I was tempted to just carry him, but my arms were already sore from pulling.

"Can't believe Near had the audacity to do that," I muttered to myself as I continued to pull. "Fuckin' albino. I'll teach him a lesson once I get Matt back conscious." I smiled evilly, then grimaced as my right foot stumbled.

Damn it! Matt needs to exercise more! No, Wammy's should get compacted into a small shed. And we'd have cardboard boxes as rooms and a bucket as a bathroom... Fuck, never mind.

"M-Mello?" someone squeaked.

I let go of Matt's legs, falling to the floor in exhaustion. I turned my head halfway to glare at him. "I hate you."

He paled. "S-so you s-saw wh-what Near did?" he asked shakily. "I swear, he caught me off-guard! He was giving me this truffle and then suddenly he just leaned over and--"

I narrowed my eyes, holding my hand out. "Truffle."

He handed it to me. Even though it was a little squished, sticky, and probably touched by Near, I popped it into my mouth, feeling better already. Ah, the wonders chocolate can do to you. "So," I said when I finished licking my fingers.

"So," Matt echoed, looking almost wistfully at my fingers. "What do we do about Near?"

I didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing us. I looked up at the big ceiling with the chandelier. "Near. Yes, I have a plan for that little son of a bitch."


	18. Chapter 17

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 17**

Matt:

It may disturb you if you hear this, but: I hope Near dies in hell. What? Even I'm allowed my moments where I get murderous! Still, I'm sure through all the hate and ideas on how to kill the fuckin' sheep that suddenly filled my mind, there's _probably _a part of me that still likes him.

Not.

He freakin' kissed my cheek thinking I was Mello, you know? It pissed me beyond relief that he had the audacity to like Mello as well. Grr. I should have asked Mello to make our relationship public so we could drive Near away with provocative kissing. Haha, that'd be funny.

"Are you even listening to me?" Mello whined.

"Huh?" I blinked several times, turning to the blond. "Oh, uh, sorry."

"Damn it, Matty!" Mello grabbed my shoulders and shook them. "You need to listen to me!"

I gave him a weird look. "All...right?"

Mello smiled. "Heh. I heard someone say that on TV and I wanted to say it," he admitted unabashedly.

I rolled my eyes. "Mhm. Now, what were you saying?"

"I was explaining the plan to you, but apparently you were zoning out." Mello crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting.

"Okay, I'm listening now. Tell me?" I asked.

Mello took a second to think. Then, he said, "Nah, I don't want to repeat all that stuff. Just don't fall asleep before twelve o'clock midnight tonight 'cuz we're sneaking out."

I nodded. "Where to?"

"You know the fifth floor of Wammy's?" Mello asked me. Excitement shone in his eyes.

"Yeah..."

"Well, one day I heard that there was a trapdoor that leads to an attic, where they store old things that belong to orphans who'd previously been here. So I was exploring one day, and I found this trapdoor right above a dresser in a deserted room. I didn't know back then it would lead to the attic, so I climbed in. And guess what I found?"

"You found it and you didn't tell me?" I scoffed.

He ignored me. "I found... It's hard to explain, but, Matt, you should have been there!" he exclaimed.

"I'd have been there if I _knew _about it," I retorted.

"There were these awesome paintings that apparently belonged to an artistic-gifted-orphan," Mello continued, ignoring me again. "They even had empty jars of jam."

I froze, my mouth going agape. "Y-you mean they were-?"

Mello shrugged. "I think so."

This newly discovered fact settled silence over us. I leaned back against the wall of our room, thoughtful. "So," I said, "what does this attic have to do with our plan? Are we going to stuff Near in there and let him starve to death?" My sadistic self was coming through.

Mello waved his hand dismissively. "I thought about doing that first," he told me. "But I realized two things: one, it's so _boring _and two, the stupid sheep would probably find something in there that would help solve a crime or something."

That was very unlikely, but I decided not to say that for fear of a bruised cheek. "Then what are we going to do?" I asked instead. See? Me smart.

"You'll find out tonight, since you didn't pay attention to me the first time." Mello grinned evilly.

I whined, crawling over to him and dropping myself in his lap. "But I wanna know!" I complained, burying my head in his chest.

"That's too bad, then." He didn't make a move to push me aside.

"You're so mean to me," I murmured against the cotton of his shirt, sniffling.

"Aw, did I kick the puppy?" Mello asked, stroking my cheek. I looked up at his face, at the red hair he currently had. I missed the blond Mello. Hopefully we can go back to Night soon and tell her to call the whole thing off.

"You kicked _and _spat on the puppy," I said crossly, though leaning into his touch nonetheless.

Mello smiled, hugging me close. "Mello says sorry to the puppy," he whispered against my neck, his warmth break tickling my ear.

I shivered, wriggling around so I could wrap my arms around his thin waist. "Matt likes Mello," I sighed, unconsciously speaking in third person. "Is that okay?"

"Mello likes Matt, too," Mello said. "So of course it's okay." He put a hand on my shoulder, pushing me away enough that I could see his face again. Our eyes locked, and he leaned in, obviously going to kiss me...

I put my hand over his mouth. "Hmm, if you want my first kiss, you're going to have to work for it," I said playfully, grinning at his disbelieving look.

"Like a date or something?" Mello asked once I'd pulled my hand away.

I shrugged, still smiling. "Maybe."

"Or I could just steal your first kiss right now," Mello said suddenly, and pounced on me. I squealed and shimmied away from the bed, running to the other side of the room.

I grabbed a pillow and put it out in front of me protectively. "Back!" I yelled, squeezing my eyes shut.

Then Mello was somehow in front of me, pinning my body against the wall, successfully putting me flush between him and the surface. I reddened, trying to maintain my angry look. "How'd you get here? I thought the Pillow of Doom was protecting me."

"I ducked under the Pillow of Doom," Mello said happily. He leaned in close to my face, and for a second I almost let him take my first kiss. But his warm lips instead kissed me on both cheeks.

Mello smiled down at my blushing face. "I need more chocolate," he proclaimed. "See you tonight, yeah?" he asked, breaking away from me and walking out of our room.

I suppressed a scream of frustration.


	19. Chapter 18

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 18**

Matt:

Wammy's House had five floors. The first one, obviously, had the lobby, the kitchen, the cafeteria, and all the other rooms a regular house would have. The second and third floor contained all the orphans' rooms, including L's, which sat at the end of the hallway looking fancy with big oak doors. The fourth and fifth floors were strictly of limits, so us curious orphans only had little information on what was in there. I remember asking Roger when I was little, and all he'd told me was that it used to be where Wammy's first-generation students resided.

I'd only known that Wammy's had an attic for a short amount of time. That meant that, therefore, I had no clue in which room it was located.

So I was wandering the halls of the fifth floor, having already searched the fourth. My green pajama pants were a little too big, so the cuffs covered my feet and acted as slippers as I walked down the long, ever-so-creepy hallway.

In my head, I was already imagining a certain red-eyed man jumping down from the roof and eating me alive. Or even worse, strangle me to death. Or be stabbed to death. Or be burnt alive. (Hey, I know of the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, too.) Neither of the three sounded particularly pleasant, so I'd brought a pencil with me. It was a #2 pencil, sharpened to the point it could probably injure someone.

What?

It wasn't my fault all the kitchen knives were in a padlocked cabinet. Plus, the pencil was a weapon and easy to carry at the same time, so double Wammy for me.

Double Wammy. Heh.

And I think I just heard a giggle.

Instinctively freezing, I raised my pencil parallel to my waist, poised to gauge any eyes out if necessary. The end of the hallway silently taunted me(is that even possible?). You know how in those horror movies where the person is looking down the hall, and suddenly it just gets farther away? Yeah, it was pretty much like that for me then.

Except there was now something-no, some_one_ at the end of the hall.

Panicked, I raised my pencil even higher, trying not to run away with my tail(my metaphoric one, mind you) between my legs. Who knows? Maybe it's just Roger doing nightly rounds.

But Roger wouldn't have a long_ thing_(it almost looked like a cane, but it was rather bumpy near the midsection) that he would hold in a menacing fashion. The tip of the weapon was metallic and it glinted wickedly as moonlight briefly flickered over it. Unluckily, the moon also shed some light on the mystery person's face, which was being concealed by a black fedora hat tipped downwards. And there was just enough light for me to see their other hand raise up and curl the fingers downward in an almost mocking wave.

The person-I supposed it was a girl in this situation- appeared to be wearing some sort of ball gown, the ones that kind of poofed out. I could faintly see the outline of the black material.

Then, ever so slowly, she started making her way towards me.

I'm not kidding; I was hyperventilating with my eyes probably larger than a cow. My stupid legs wouldn't move and my eyes were locked onto that long object in her hands, now dragging behind her. It made some sort of ripping sound against the carpet, and my scared-shitless mind thought, _What if it's a knife on that thing?_

The row of large windows to my left weren't helping. They were probably ten times the height of me, taking up almost the entire wall. It was several feet wide, and the curtains didn't get in the way of the moonlight too much, so it wasn't completely dark. To most, it would have been a good thing since they'd have been able to see while they ran(speaking of which, _why wasn't I?_). But all it did was add to the scary effect as the girl in black slinked towards me, head bowed a little. All I could see were two rows of white teeth grinning, made visible as she passed each window and the moonlight shone on her face.

When there was only a few feet left, she stopped, right in the middle of the window. As light cascaded down to her form, I took note of her black attire. It seemed like she was about to go to a funeral.

My arm was still stupidly in front of me, holding the pencil. I squeaked as my traitorous limb shook and dropped the pencil.

_Look what you did, stupid! You just dropped your only weapon when the enemy is just. Right. There!_

Those white teeth were revealed more as the grin stretched into what I'd call a Cheshire smile.

She lunged.

I screamed, and, finally, spun around on my heels and ran. Or, well, began to. I was about to take my second running step when something cold was wrapped around my neck and I was tugged back harshly into someone's chest.

I squeezed my eyes shut, still hyperventilating. I waited to them to slash my throat. I mean, that was what happened in the movies, right? Freddy Kreuger or the murderer would slash your neck and then leave you there to bleed to death? Or would they-

"Did I scare you too much, Matty?" a husky voice purred in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. My eyes snapped open in realization and I shoved a laughing Mello off of me.

"Asshole!" I yelled, resisting the strong urge to stab my so-called boyfriend with the pencil lying beside my foot. I huffed and glared at Mello, whose face was fully visible after he took off the hat. He shook his head, allowing red hair to become loose and frame his eyes.

"Aw, I did, didn't I?" He smirked.

My face was heated. There was no way I'd answer him. And no way I'd tell him I'd originally thought he was a girl. Besides, that would only hurt _my _ego. It was an unofficial, established thing that Mello was the boy-looks-like-a-girl. I've never thought of how _I _might have looked like a girl.

And here was Mello, decked out in eyeliner and red lipstick. I almost felt angry; how _dare _he put make-up on! Sure, our bodies were switched and all, but it was still _my _face.

Aw, shit. I think I just realized I actually didn't care what Mello did to me. Oh, how that sounds like it's an innuendo.

"Say something, Matty," Mello said, suddenly losing his confident look. True worry was visible in his eyes.

I melted at the look. "Hi."

He shook his head. "Hello, moron."

It took me fifteen full seconds to register what he'd said. "H-hey!" I sputtered, pouting.

Mello rolled his eyes. "Come on. For all we know, everyone's awake after they heard your scream. Let's get to the attic." He grabbed hold of my hand, bare skin against gloved ones. I gaped at his dressed figure as he began to drag me to the end of the hall. He glanced back for a second to see my open my mouth and he just smiled. "Is that an invitation?" he practically purred.

I shook my head in disbelief. "You're wearing a dress," I stated skeptically. I eyed the umbrella that he was holding with his other arm.

So _that _was the 'weapon.' And I seriously thought it was a lumpy stick with a knife glued to the end. The umbrella was what he'd used to pull me back by the neck, I realized.

"In here." Mello tugged me into a room. I had time to read a scratchy plaque that had the number 2 crossed out. Beside it, a 666 had been carved into the fancy wood.

"666?" I said, gulping.

"Used to be Beyond Birthday's room," Mello said like this was no big deal.

I looked around as Mello scaled a rather tall dresser. "Don't fall," I called up to him, half-joking.

"Will you catch me if I do?" Mello said back.

"Not like I'll have a choice." I put my arms out.

Mello smiled deviously. "All right. Three...two..."

"No!" I shouted, just as Mello said, "One!" and jumped from the top of the dresser. Yes, the crazy phsycopath _jumped. _Now he was smiling innocently at me, eyes big and wide(so _this _was how Mello felt when I gave him the puppy eyes).

"Now you'll have to climb back up again," I managed, trying hard not to jump the redhead(well, technically he was a redhead now, right? I mean, with my red hair and all...) in my arms.

Mello shrugged, smiling happily. "It was worth it." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek before shyly turning away, setting himself back on his feet. Without another word, he climbed up the dresser once more, feeling around the ceiling for something. His fingers found purchase and he dug them in, pulling down. The door of the attic swung down, barely missing Mello and two inches away from hitting the top of the dresser.

"Come on." Mello gestured, starting to climb through.

And-no, not just because I thought I'd be able to see under Mello's skirt- I followed him.


	20. Chapter 19

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 19**

Matt:

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, folding my knees into my chest. I tried my best to keep my eyes on Mello, since I was afraid if I looked around, some creepy girl from the Grudge would come out and start yowling at me. It wasn't my fault the only source of light we had was a dingy light bulb that suspiciously looked like it was about to flicker off any minute.

Mello was rummaging around behind some boxes, constantly cursing. I crawled a few inches over. "What are you doing?" I said, trying to look over.

Mello looked up at me sheepishly. "Changing."

"And why does changing include cussing to yourself?" I said.

"Because these panties are too damn small, and-ow!- there's barely any space."

I blanked out for a moment. "You're...wearing panties? As in, panties, _which are for females_?"

"Shut up," Mello growled. After a few more minutes of squirming around, he popped back out in his regular attire: black cotton shirt and black pajama pants. He smiled triumphantly and then crawled to sit next to me. He pulled a box over. "The plan," he said as he ripped the tape off with ease, "is to turn Near's room into Beyond Birthday's room."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Mel, I hate to break this to you, but we cannot drag that dresser down all the way downstairs without anybody noticing."

"We won't have to make it look _exactly_ like BB's room. After all, Near doesn't know what it's supposed to look like. The fourth and fifth floors of Wammy's House is strictly forbidden, and I doubt Near will choose to break the rules," Mello said. And I'm pretty sure he added under his breath, "That no good boyfriend-stealing, teacher's pet, albino freak."

Instinctively, I exclaimed, "Hey! Since when was I your boyfriend?"

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't secretly called me that in your head." Mello pinched my cheek. "Since I tried to steal your first kiss, of course. Seriously, Matt, I thought you were smart." He proceeded to take various BB-related things out of the box, like empty jars of jam, two sets of white shirts and jeans, and, surprisingly, a photograph. It was of a boy with brown hair and unusual saffron eyes. He wore a simple white button-down shirt and dark jeans.

"Hm," Mello said, almost thoughtfully. "It looks like us two aren't the only ones who kepe photographs of each other."

I blushed, remembering that one picture of Mello I keep hidden in the game case of Final Fantasy. "It's A. Right?" I hesitantly touched the boy's face in the photo.

"Yeah." Mello handed it to me. "And here's a lamp..."

When everything was strewn out on the dusty floor, I nodded in satisfaction. "You're a genius, Mel."

Mello laughed, bowing a little. "Thank you very much."

"We should put the stuff back in the box and attempt to drag it back down to our room," I suggested, beginning to re-pack the things. "Is this all of BB's stuff?"

"Yeah." Mello nodded. "He didn't have much. But I think..." He reached over to another pile of boxes, bringing out a painting of BB himself. "A did this for him. I heard he never let anyone touch it, it was so important to him."

"Poor BB," I said softly, shivering. "I imagine he and A were really close, and then A just went off and committed suicide. Oh, man. I hope that doesn't happen to us."

Mello smacked me lightly on the shoulder. "Keep your morbid thoughts to yourself," he said. "Neither of us will commit suicide and leave the other. Now get off your lazy ass and help me get this down."

I obediently opened the attic door again, getting down first and receiving the bottom of the box. With enough effort, Mello and I managed to get the box down to the top of the dresser, where it barely grazed the attic's entrance.

"Now, Matt, you're going to have to push that desk over here and use it as leverage. Then you'll pull the box down to there, okay?" Mello commanded. "And try not to make too much noise."

I was this close to saluting and said, "Yes, sir!" I didn't, though, because my head would have hit the ceiling and Mello would have hit me. I did as I was told, jumping down and dragging the desk over beside the dresser. After that, I dug my fingernails into the box's side and tried to lift it. I was barely able to, and the moment the box hit the surface of the desk, I toppled backwards and onto the floor with a loud thump.

I heard Mello snort as he tried to hold in his laughter. I opened an eye blearily and saw that Mello was now above me, an outstretched hand in my face. I took it and he pulled me to my feet.

"We'll drag this to the staircase, and we'll be done for the night," Mello said decisively. I nodded, coming beside him to help him push the box out of the door. It took nearly an hour to get to the end of the hallway(the fact that the floor was carpeted didn't help).

"I'm so tired!" I moaned, flopping down on my back.

"Come on, Matty, I don't wanna drag you again," Mello said, but he was panting also. He tried to haul me to my feet. I just pulled him down to me. "Look what you did," he scolded, although his eyes had mischief in them.

"I'm tired. Can't we go to sleep here?" I muttered, closing my eyes tiredly. Tonight must have been the most exercise I'd done my whole life.

Mello shook my shoulders. "Don't fall asleep here! We'll get caught!"

"No we won't," I mumbled. "Ugh... No, Melly! I don't wanna!" I whined as Mello managed to tug me to my feet. I stumbled after him down the stairs, nearly tripping more than once.

"Quit whining. Someone'll hear," Mello snapped, leading me down to the second floor(oh, my god, never before in my life had I seen so many stairs). He peeked around first, making sure there was no one in sight, then dragged me to our door.

"I'm tired!" I complained loudly, rubbing my eyes.

"Shut up!" Mello hissed. He practically shoved me inside our room and had just closed the door the moment I heard another open. "Here, idiot!" Mello pushed me onto his bed, jumping in after me. He hastily yanked the covers over our heads.

I purred like a cat, snuggling into his stomach. I fell asleep immediately.


	21. Chapter 20

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 20**

Matt:

I'd just like to announce that the following morning became The Best Morning Ever in Matt's Life. Yes, it was so awesome that I made up a title for it. Seriously, though, what could beat waking up to the feeling of Mello's arms around you, your face pressed into his chest, and his own face buried in your hair? Maybe a quadruple chocolate chip pancake drizzled with M&M's, maple syrup, and a gummy worm on top with a side of Pringles. Mmm, yes...

But I'm straying off topic here. To get to the point, I went into a state of euphoria for about six minutes, right there in Mello's arms. Halfway through my sixth minute of happiness, Mello woke up and caught me staring. He smirked, patting my hair. "Morning." He proceeded to get out of bed.

I made an unintelligible noise, staying in my place. I lifted an arm, surprised it wasn't sore. With all of the dragging we did last night... Normally, my arms got sore whenever I carried something above the weight of forty pounds. What? I don't exercise much, okay?

"You really need to exercise more," Mello pointed out. I peeked out from under the covers to see that he was flexing an arm.

"Is it sore?" I asked, sitting up and shuffling over to the edge of the bed. I touched his arm hesitantly.

"Nah." Mello grinned.

"Cocky bastard," I huffed. "So strong," I crooned, latching onto his arm.

Mello rolled his eyes. "Get up and get dressed. And wear my clothes."

"What are we doing today?" I said.

"I am going to be redecorating Near's room," Mello said.

I raised an eyebrow. "But he stays in his room almost the whole day and just sits there doing puzzles!" I exclaimed.

Mello nodded. "That's why you are going to distract him," he said.

"What?" I queried nervously.

Mello was now taking out his regular black shirt and pants, tossing them to me. "I'm not too big of a fan about it, either," he said. "But we need a distraction." I pouted. He sighed. "Okay, look, Matt, how about this: after I finish decorating Near's room and you get back, we'll sneak out together. I've got something I think you'll like."

My eyes were now wide with curiosity. "What is it?" I said wonderingly.

"It's a surprise. I promise you'll like it." He quickly kissed me on the cheek. I gasped as he placed more kissed down my jawline, then stopped at the side of my neck. Without hesitating, he bit down on the skin.

I yelped. "M-Mello!" I half-moaned and half-complained.

The chocoholic was now licking over the wound he'd inflicted. "There." Mello leaned back to admire his work. "You have officially been marked mine," he declared. "Now go get dressed."

"Near's going to see this," I said as a matter-of-factly.

Mello shrugged. "Hide it."

I stared at him disbelievingly for a few seconds, then staggered to my feet and began stripping. "Damn bastard," I muttered under my breath. "Oh, so he decides to mark me 'his' like I'm some sort of belonging, and then sends me out to 'distract' his enemy. Yeah, Mello, you're the ideal boyfriend anyone could ask for." I finished dressing, inspecting myself in the mirror and trying to pull up the neckline of the shirt so it hid the purple love-bite. Behind me, Mello was smirking and staring at somewhere below my back-

"Pervert," I huffed, grabbing a hairbrush and starting to comb down my now-blond hair. I didn't realize I was brushing it too hard until Mello's hand came over my own, slowing down the appendage.

"If you give me split ends, I swear I will slip aphrodisiac into your cereal, then take advantage of your hormonal self and proceed to tie you up and rape you," he threatened.

I smiled. "You can't rape the willing," I purred.

"It's a date then." Mello laughed, setting the brush down. "There, see? That's how you do it." He reached in front of me to adjust some bangs on my forehead.

I had to admit, he had a flair for this kind of thing. "So, how am I going to distract him?" I said, reaching up to adjust the neckline again.

Mello shrugged behind me. "I don't know. Ask him out for ice cream or whatever."

"But don't you think he's going to suspect something?" I said. "I mean, it's kind of weird that Mello would suddenly start being civilized with him."

Mello grinned wickedly. "It would mess with his mind more, then." He giggled. "Ah, it feels awesome to finally be outsmarting him," he sighed, resting his chin on my shoulder. He hugged me from behind.

I tilted my head back a little. "I guess."

I felt him frown against my neck. "Matty's not happy?" he said softly.

_Hell no. I have to be nice to Near, for god's sake! _"Of course I am," I lied.

Mello released a low growl, and before I could ask what that was for, he spun me around and smashed his lips onto mine.

It wasn't everyone's perfect first kiss, with hearts floating around and the dramatic stuff. No, it was rough, bruising, and it left my lips sore when he pulled away. It was all just so _Mello_, and I had not problem with it.

Mello winked. "How's that for a first kiss?" he said triumphantly.

"The surprise better be good later," I managed, breathing hard.

Mello chuckled. "It will be. Didn't I promise?" He licked his lips, smacking my butt. "Now go to Near." I could have sworn that his hand stayed in place a second too long. Not that I was complaining.

"Yes, ma'am." I saluted, then avoided his fist and ran out of our room, laughing.


	22. Chapter 21

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 21**

Matt:

So I stood there, after the little scene in my room, in the hallway in front of Near. "Hey, Near," I said casually, marveling at how natural I sounded. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for ice cream."

Near blinked, looking at me. He was eyeing me critically, as if he couldn't trust me. Well, I couldn't blame him.

Finally, he answered, "That sounds great" with a little pink hue in his cheeks.

I beamed, taking his hand. It was much smaller than mine. "Let's go, then!"

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in the same ice cream parlor that Mello and I had gone to on our date. The same exact booth, too, coincidentally. Near was sitting in front of me, and if he had been Mello, then it would have been a total replica of mine and Mello's first date.

I ordered a double chocolate sundae, while Near ordered mint in a soft-spoken voice. When the waitress cheerfully went away to get out ice creams, Near looked at me with a penetrating gaze. It made me uncomfortable, and I squirmed a little in my seat.

"D'you have to stare?" I asked bluntly.

Near smiled a little. "Matt feels quite awkward with Near, correct?" he said to me knowingly.

"No," I lied, then did a double take. Hold on, did he just call me Matt? I furrowed my eyebrows, inspecting my hair. It was still golden yellow, not flaming red. And I was wearing a Mello-like outfit(thank god Mello didn't force me to wear his leather). So how come...?

Our ice cream arrived and I stared at it, feeling queasy. Near knew. He might've known all along. Damn little albino...

I busied myself with eating little spoonfuls at a time from my chocolate ice cream. I swear Near was smirking as he ate his own.

"So," I finally said, lowering my spoon and getting enough courage to look Near in the eye, "how long have you known, you little devil sheep?"

Near smiled fully. It was creepy. "Not very long, to be truthful. I was pondering over the matter last night as I lied on my bed, when I heard some loud noises." I grinned abashedly. "I peeked outside and saw you two returning to your rooms."

"But we didn't call each other by our names!" I exclaimed. "How did you figure it out?"

"First of all," Near said, a sly gleam passing through his eye, "the ceiling is very thin, and you whine very loud. I heard Mello's voice referring to someone as, and I quote, 'Melly.' "

Here I blushed violently. "Still, that shouldn't have given it away. You should have considered the possibility of Mello talking to himself!" I accused, taking another bite of ice cream.

"Matt, remember that I saw you two returning to your rooms," Near reminded me. "I put two and two together."

"...Oh." I went quiet, silently seething. All that hard work for nothing!

"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't very sure of my conclusion of you two switching bodies at first," Near added. "Yes, you two have done multiple things in the past week that point to that explanation, but as far as I know-which is a lot, by the way- no one has discovered a way to switch bodies."

"Wait, that means..." I began, catching on.

Near nodded. "Yes. That means when I referred to you as Matt, I was only 50% sure that I was right about the situation." He smiled in that creepy way again. "Your reaction confirmed my suspicions."

I froze for five seconds, then burst out, "How was that supposed to make me feel better, huh? Stupid Near!" I threw my spoon down and childishly pouted. I hated it! Mello and I went through a whole lot(trust me, kissing Mello when he was in my body made things more than a little weird) in an attempt to fool Near, but it had failed! Then again, though, I should be blaming myself. If I hadn't put my guard down, Near wouldn't have found out.

Wait...

We could still retaliate! Mello was still decorating Near's room! And if Near reacts like we want him to, then maybe Mello wouldn't be too pissed about me screwing up the plan.

Determined not to mess up again, I gave no indication of my realization. Instead I said, "Do you really like Mello, then?"

It was Near's turn to blush. "A-actually," he stammered, making me swell with pride, "I only pulled that stunt at lunch to see what the reaction would be. I'd begun investigating back then, and it was strictly for that purpose. But when I first started to consider the idea of you and Mello switching bodies," he hesitated, "I felt attracted to you. You in Mello's body, I mean. And I I started to think about you-as in, _you, _Matt- a lot more often and-"

"Awkward," I stated, interrupting him. Near's pale cheeks went red.

"Quite," he agreed, gulping. "A-and I know that you and Mello are together, so I think it would be best for both of us to forget the past few seconds."

I nodded. "Agreed."

We finished our ice creams in silence. Like I'd said, it was really awkward. I mean, I was eating ice cream with Mello's rival, who also happened to like me. Veeeery awkward, children.

Near had to go to the bathroom before we left. I nodded at him, saying, "I'll wait for you outside." And true to my word, I did, even though Mello would have probably cackled and ditched him. Nope, me being puppy-like and all, I stayed dutifully outside the entrance waiting for the albino.

It started to get strange, though. Ten minutes passed and he still hadn't returned.

Puzzled, I went back in the parlor, heading directly towards the bathroom in the back of the building. I entered to see a big man pinning Near to the wall, lip-locking with him in an obviously unwanted kiss.

* * *

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I have no excuse for this late update because I'm lazy... Well, that, and I was busy working on Holli and I's co-author fic. **

**This story is very close to ending... Maybe three more chapters? We'll see. **

**Last thing: since I'm so close to 200 reviews (six more!) and I didn't do this for when I got 100, I'm going to write a oneshot for the 200th reviewer. They can pick what they want me to write, as long as it's MattxMello. It would be helpful if you reviewed on an account, because it would make things a lot easier as for communicating and stuff, but we can work something out of it's an anonymous review. :)**

**'til the next, and definitely sooner update, bye!**

**.A/F  
**


	23. Chapter 22

**Roles Reversed**

**Chapter 22**

Mello:

I took out the last thing at the bottom of the box, a rectangular item that was cloaked in bubble wrap and tissue paper. I tore off the cover, then froze with awe as I saw the picture that was underneath. It was BB with whom I presumed was A, laughing together. The picture had been drawn, and at the bottom someone had scrawled down _AA._

In silent respect, I placed the picture on the dresser. Then I stepped back, slightly panting as I admired my work.

Near's usual white sheets had been replaced with black and red ones. The bedside table now had a jar of jam instead of Near's puzzle and his dresser was cluttered with papers and drawing utensils. I'd replaced the white curtains with red ones and shut them so it was dark, then turned on the lamp beside the dresser.

I smiled victoriously, knowing that this would surely get Near. Now I just had to go outside and pretend like-

"Mello! What is the meaning of this!"

What the-?

I came out of the room, shutting the door behind me and heading downstairs. I saw Roger in front of Matt and Near, in the midst of yelling at them.

"Yo!" I interrupted. "What the hell happened, Mello?" I was careful not to call him 'Matt.'

Matt looked at me sourly and I noticed his shiner. Oh.

I should have felt bad. Instead I erupted into a fit of giggles while Roger looked about to explode.

"C'mon, Near," I heard Matt mutter, tugging the albino up the stairs. I waited for them as Roger continued to shout up at us. Ignoring him altogether, we made our way to Matt and mine's room.

"Okay, what happened?" I demanded once the doors were shut. Matt was gingerly holding a wet towel cloth to his eye. I noticed Near's sore lips.

"Some blockhead kissed Near and was about to rape him, so I stepped in," Matt grumbled.

Near wordlessly nodded. "The two got into a fight, but Matt and I managed to flee before anyone got really hurt."

"Hello? I'm Matt," I said, waving my hand.

"He knows, Mello," Matt muttered.

"Knows what?" I asked.

"Matt told me about the predicament you two are in," Near answered for him, twirling a white strand.

Matt sighed exasperatedly. "I told you not to tell him I told you!" He looked at me fearfully. "I swear Mels, I didn't do it willingly. He guessed and I sort of freaked out-"

"So you told him?" I cut in angrily. "Matt!"

He whimpered.

"Didn't you at _all _consider the possibility that he might have been just testing you?" I said, raising a fist to punch him.

"It is not Matt's fault," Near said calmly. "And on the bright side, all is not lost. I admit I had been stumped by you two, and I still do not know what you did to my room."

I groaned. "Let me guess, Matt," I growled, "you told him about that, too?"

"No!" Matt denied.

"I saw you two last night," Near said bluntly. "And I was fully expecting one of you to try and distract me while the other went to work on your trick. If it makes Mello feel any better, you can still show me my room and I can act surprised."

I mulled over the thought as I gave Matt my best death glare. I supposed I really shouldn't be blaming him, but I loved seeing that 'terrified puppy' look on his face. It was cute. "Fine," I decided. I grinned. "Let's go, Near." I put my hands over his ways, then growled at Matt, "Lead the way, _Matty_."

Matt squeaked and nodded, scrambling to obey. I almost laughed.

We padded next door to Near's room, where Matt opened the door. I scowled at him, making him squeak and look down submissively to the floor, an obvious pout on his face.

Hm. I'd have to fix that later.

"There you go, Near," I said, taking my hands away. I saw Near blink, his eyes portraying no emotion.

"I knew it," he told me.

I snapped. "No you didn't, sheep! You're just saying that to make me feel bad!"

"I am not," Near replied evenly.

"You son of a-" I raged, trying to maul off his face but Matt held me back.

"Near, um, just take it back," the redhead said nervously, keeping his surprisingly strong arms firmly around my waist.

Near blinked. "I refuse to take back the truth," he said, raising an eyebrow almost defiantly.

Matt sighed. "Just calll a freaking truce already," he said, tightening his hold around me.

"Fine." I froze. "Truce." Near had turned to me, holding out his arm.

Matt set me down and I coughed, looking at Near distrustfully. "How do I know-" I began cautiously.

"You don't!" Matt chirped. "Please just shake his hand so we can switch back bodies and everything can return back to normal.

I kept frowning, but shook Near's hand anyway.

"Now I sense that this is my cue to leave," Near said, walking past us. "I will go fetch Night so she can do her stuff."

Once he was gone, Matt whispered, "Did he just say 'so she can do her stuff?' "

I nodded gravely. "I think so."

"So..." Matt trailed off.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Near doesn't really like you, he actually likes me," he blurted out.

"He what?" I said lowly, hands tightening into fists. How _dare_ Near even look at Matt that way? That little albino needs to be taught a couple of things. I was just planning several ways to trap him in a closet when Matt suddenly hugged me.

"Stop thinking," he ordered. "And kiss me." Then he smiled in that dorky fashion that only _my _Matt could pull off.

"Gladly." I smirked, leaning down and kissing him sweetly on the lips.

Night and Near found us that way five minutes later, me trapping Matt against the wall as we tilted our heads to kiss deeper.

"I see it worked out for the two of you," Night observed in a cocky tone.

I looked an eyebrow. "Just switch us back, Night-gown," I said.

Night rolled her eyes but started chanting nonetheless.

It wasn't too long before everything faded into black and I collapsed on the floor beside Matt, going unconscious.

**Near:**

I had to drag the duo back to their room. Even now my back still hurts.

* * *

**Sorry, I couldn't help the last part. XD**

**Here it is, folks. Second-to-the-last chapter, and forgive me if it seems a little rushed. I'm just really excited for RR to end. The next -and last!- chapter will contain fluff, Matt, Mello, fluff, Near, and fluff. Yep. :D**

**If you want to review, go ahead, but answer this question too: closet or attic?  
**


	24. Epilogue

**Roles Reversed**

**Epilogue**

Matt:

Spidery fingers tickled my side and caused me to snort with laughter, pushing the hands away and sitting up. I rubbed my eyes and gave a half-hearted glare at the blond man below me, who grinned up in return.

"Mmm, I love your bedhead," Mello purred, sitting up and running his hands through my hair-my _red _hair.

"Morning, Mels," I said, rolling my eyes playfully.

Mello slid out of bed and padded over to our dresser, picking up a hair brush and starting to comb golden strands. I watched him, feeling as if it were only yesterday that he was threatening to knock me out and rape me if I gave him split ends. Sometimes I wish I can go back to last year, back to smearing toothpaste into Night's spellbooks. Then again, I'm not sure I'd want to switch bodies again. I mean, I'd always felt weird when I was kissing Mello back then, what with him in my body and all. It-

And Mello was suddenly sitting in my lap, tangling his fingers in my hair and kissing me sweetly on the lips. I sighed and Mello chuckled at the back of his throat.

"If Mello and Matt are finished snogging," a monotonous voice interrupted, "Linda is asking if you two are ready."

"But it's so early!" I complained, leaning back. Mello didn't move, simply straddling me and looking at Near casually. "Who the fuck has a wedding at-" I looked at the clock. "-ten in the morning?"

Mello laughed, pulling me up as I continued protesting. "C'mon, Linda worked really hard on this."

As I grumbled, Mello teased Near about the suit the albino was wearing. It was all black except for the button-up shirt underneath the jacket. On the right breast pocket was a rose.

"Looking snazzy, Near," I chided.

Near merely gave me a blank look and walked away. Damn weirdo.

"Okay," I said, dragging out the word in a tired tone, "suits, right?"

Mello nodded, pulling our drawer open. "Linda said we both have to wear them, Matt."

I sighed. "Fine. I'm showering first."

"You've got ten minutes!" Mello called after me.

"Yes, mommy," I called back jokingly, retreating into the bathroom before Mello could give me a black eye. When I came back out, Mello was already wearing his suit-it looked almost identical to Near's, except of course he pulled it off better...Mm...

"I thought you were going to, um," I gestured behind me to the bathroom, trying not to ogle him.

"No, I showered last night," Mello said, handing me my suit. "My hair isn't its best when it's wet, and I don't have time to dry it."

I looked at the clock. "It's nine fifteen! We have forty five minutes."

"Yeah, forty five minutes to spend on _you_." With that, Mello went into the bathroom, no doubt to get his 'supplies.' Once I called them his Beauty Kit but he punched me afterwards, so I make sure never to call him that in his face. At least out loud, of course.

After pulling on some boxers, I plopped down on a chair in front of the dresser with a huff. Mello came back out, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was looking at me like I was some kind of expensive chocolate.

"Yo." I snapped my fingers. "Let's get this over with, please?" I braced myself, or rather, my hair. God knows how dangerous Mello is with that fucking hair brush.

Mello stood beside me, reaching over to plug in the hair dryer. He turned it on, grinned at me almost evilly in the mirror, and began the process...

Thirty minutes later, my head was throbbing in pain. Mello steadied me as I changed into my suit.

"Well, at least neither of us had to wear the dress," I said to myself, looking into the mirror.

Mello chuckled. "You'd have love to see my in a dress, wouldn't you?" he teased. "Now hurry your ass. Linda's going to throw a fit if we're not there ten minutes early."

I looked at myself one last time. "Fine, fine. Lead the way, my _husband_," I drawled.

Mello wagged a finger at me. "Not yet, Matty." He smirked, grabbing my tie and pulling me close. "Wait a few more-"

"Are you two ready?" It was Near again.

Mello released my tie, then started tugging on it as he fixed it. "Yeah." He winked at me. "C'mon, wifey."

"More like dog," I muttered as I let myself be dragged outside. The sun attacked my uncovered eyes. Mello had 'convinced' me not to wear them on the wedding day. I started regretting leaving them back inside.

"Okay, you're supposed to wait back here and I'll be up there," Mello said. He motioned to Near. "Let's go, sheep, you're up there with me too."

I watched in amusement as Near walked after Mello down the 'aisle,' stopping beside the makeshift altar. To the side, Night turned on the stereo and the traditional wedding music began to play...

"Ready, Matt?" Linda asked.

I nodded.

"Okay, and...go."

I began to walk, counting my steps like we'd rehearsed.

_Step, step, step..._

One of the other orphans glared at me in envy. I stuck my tongue out at them childishly, grinning as I continued. I finally stopped in front of the wooden desk that was clothed in a white tablecloth. Roger looked particularly unhappy, having been forced into playing the priest for the wedding. He glared at me.

I merely smiled back, taking my place beside Mello.

And we both stepped back to reveal Linda in a beautiful purple dress walking down the aisle. One of the younger girls were giggling, throwing rose petals are random, running down the aisle.

Linda stopped beside Near(yes, _Near_) and the albino lifted her veil. They both turned to Roger.

I drowned out the boring things the priest was supposed to say, squeezing Mello's hand and leaning my head on his shoulder. All eyes were focused on the couple as the priest-haha, Roger- announced them husband and wife.

The kids cheered, even some of the older ones who had chosen to stand instead of sitting on the folding chairs. Linda and Near ran down the aisle. Or, well, Linda ran. Near kinda stumbled after her. Everyone on instinct followed, cheering. Mello and I stayed near the back of the crowd.

"Y'know, this makes me want to get married to you," I said bluntly.

Mello smiled. "I'd like that, Matt." He turned to me. "Six years from now, I'll propose to you in some cheesy romantic restaurant, and we'll get married and have a kid and start a sickeningly domestic life."

I smiled back. "It's a date."

"Ooh, catch it!" someone yelled as Linda tossed the bouquet.

I wasn't really paying attention-Mello was kinda keeping me distracted-until the bunch of flowers hit my head.

"Ow." I scowled, swatting it away.

Mello laughed, taking into his hands and waving it at the crowd. "He got it, back off!" He looked back down at me. "I think that fate is trying to tell us something," he said suggestively, smirking.

I frowned. "But Fate is right there, busy stitching some random doll-"

"Idiot." Mello whacked me over the head. "I love you."

I giggled girlishly. "I love you too."

xxx

Fifteen minutes later we were in some closet while the others were out eating cake. Of course, it hadn't been a real wedding, merely an experiment for Linda to see what it would feel like to be married. Poor Near had been the only orphan willing to play the part of the husband, but then again, he hadn't looked like he cared.

Enough about that, though. Let's focus on Mello and I in a small closet, pressed together tightly and making out. I was up in Cloud 9 while Mello slid his hand under my shirt.

I gasped, my hand groping around the wall for something to grab onto. It landed on the doorknob and I accidentally twisted as Mello began licking my neck. Instead of the door opening and spilling us out, the doorknob didn't budge.

"Wait, Mello." With the limited space we had, I turned around, trying the doorknob again. "Shit!" I hissed once I realized what was happening.

"What is it, Matt?" Mello asked lazily, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"We're fucking locked in!" I exclaimed, banging on the door. "Hey! Can anyone hear us?"

"Shh, Matt," Mello whispered. "Listen."

So I quieted, straining my ears and trying not to start flailing around. Someone outside was snickering. "Have fun, boys." It was a female. It sounded familiar-

"Fuckin' Night," Mello grumbled.

"What now?" I groaned, leaning my head on the door. "We're stuck in here until who-knows-how-long and it's hot."

I heard Mello chuckle. "Well you know Matt, you could always take off that suit..."

* * *

**And there it is. :3 Personally, I like the way this ended. Before anything else, I forgot to announce who won that 200th review thing in the last chapter, so here's what happened.**

**The original winner, MattxMellofangirl, hasn't replied yet. If they don't respond within the week, then the 201st reviewer, 7CrimsonKisses7 will get the oneshot instead. Now all we have to do is wait...**

**Also, if you didn't figure out, closet won. My sister had the winning vote, since closet and attic tied at first. ^^**

**Lastly...a big thank you to everyone! I love you all(in the nice friendly way) for sticking with me through this story, even if there were times when I took a while to update. I never would have finished without your guys' support. Again, I LOVE YOU!**

**Until next time,**

**Atreyl  
**


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